Secrets
by Silwyna
Summary: Neil gets an unsuspected visitor from the future. Can this visitor help to rebuild the relationship between Neil and his father?
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I own nothing related to Odyssey 5. The characters and the universe of Odyssey 5 do not belong to me. I make no profit from this story.

**Secrets**

**By Silwyna**

„Neil, wait." Sighing Neil turned around and watched how Holly quickly walked up to him. He had been trying to avoid her for days and he could see she was starting to get really irritated by that.

"Hey." She hugged him quickly and gave him a short kiss. "Where have you been? I've been waiting for you all night."

"Oh, uhm ..." Shit, he had forgotten all about that. They were supposed to celebrate their second year anniversary last night.

"Did you forget?" She glared at him angrily.

"Uh, no, I ..." He stammered.

"Neil?" Someone tapped him slightly on the shoulder and relieved he turned around. Whoever had just cut into this conversation, he would be forever grateful. But when he saw who was standing behind him, he froze immediately. Kelly Simson, Cheerleader of the Year and his future wife, even though she didn't know that yet. She hadn't even bothered to look at him all the time through highschool. And now she was staring at him like he was the best thing that ever happened to her.

"Do you have a minute?" She asked quietly. "There is something we need to talk about."

"Uh yeah, sure ..." Neil stammered again. It seemed he was incapable of forming full sentences this morning. He looked apologizing at Holly and followed Kelly into an empty classroom. Holly watched them leave with fury in her eyes.

When they stepped into the classroom, Kelly quickly closed the door behind them. Neil looked around himself slightly uncomfortable. This was really more than he could take. For days he had been trying to find a way to break up with Holly without making hurting her and now his future wife, who at this point only thought of him as a worthless drug addict or something, was standing before him in an empty room looking more beautiful than ever.

"So, uhm, what can I do for you?" He hated the fact that his voice sounded kind of shaky right now.

"Uh ... Huh, I really don't know how to start ..." Neil was surprised to find that Kelly's voice sounded as shaky as his. Somehow that made him feel less nervous.

"Just spit it out." He encouraged her.

"Okay ..." He watched her stretching her shoulders to regain her composure. He had watched her doing this hundreds of times before. Until now he hadn't even realized how much he had missed these little things about her the last months.

"You do remember how earth got destroyed, right?" She asked.

Neil just stared at her for a few moments. He must have misunderstood her. She couldn't have just asked him what he thought she had asked.

Kelly misinterpreted his silence and the complete blank look on his face. "Oh great, you don't remember. This really complicates things a bit."

"Wh-What?" Neil still stared at her in disbelief.

"Just forget what I said, okay? I gotta go." She quickly turned around to leave the room.

Neil managed to grab her arm to hold her back right before she reached the door. "Wait. What do you know about the destruction of earth?"

Confused Kelly looked at him. "Why? What do you know?"

"Oh, this is ridiculous." Neil let out a frustrated sigh.

"You're right. There really is just one way to find out." And without another word Kelly stepped closer to Neil, cupped his face with her hands and started to kiss him on the mouth. At first Neil was too surprised to react in any way but then he let himself enjoy this more than familiar kiss and began to return it. He slid his arms around Kelly's back and pulled her closer to him. She returned the favor and put her arms around his neck. The kiss got more intimate with every passing second and both Neil and Kelly struggled hard to pull out of it again. When they finally let go of each other they stood breathless for a moment and stared at each other.

"Okay, what is going on here?" Neil asked. He felt totally confused now. The girl, no the woman he had just kissed had most definitely kissed exactly like his wife. But that couldn't be. They wouldn't get married until about four years from now and a 17 year old highschool girl shouldn't kiss like that. Plus in this time she hated every cell of him. And yet she had just kissed him as passionately as he remembered from the future. He shook his head slightly to get a clear mind.

"I came back, just like you." Kelly explained, still a bit breathlessly. It had felt so good to be so close to Neil again. She had thought she had lost him forever and now he was standing before her, alive and breathing. A little out of breath maybe, but after the kiss they had just exchanged, she knew she didn't need to worry about that.

"What do you mean, you came back?" Neil still had no idea what was going on here. He just hoped this wasn't some sick joke. He had caught himself staring at Kelly several times since he got back in time. Maybe she had noticed it and thought of this as a way of payback? To show him that he didn't have a chance with her because she was so much worth than he. Of course he knew that she didn't really think like that but that's how he had always seen her during his first time in highschool.

"I traveled back in time, moron. The seeker sent me back, just like you. Not exactly for the same reason, but he sent me back."

Okay, this was not a joke. It couldn't be. "What?"

Kelly would have laughed out loud at his stunned expression if this wouldn't be so damned serious. "Okay, sit down and I explain everything to you." Kelly motioned for him to take a seat on the chair next to him. Sitting down was probably a good idea, Neil thought. His legs had started to feel a little shaky the last few minutes.

"You got sick." She swallowed. "About four years from now ... you got sick and you died. No one really knew what it was. It started as a cold and got worse from there. The doctor said that if you had been treated earlier you ... you wouldn't have died. But when you got admitted to the hospital it was too late." She noticed how the tears were falling from her eyes but she couldn't stop them. The memories were just too painful.

Neil looked at her stunned. "So, you're ... you're really here?"

Surprised Kelly looked up. This wasn't exactly the response she had expected. After all, she had just told him he would die in four years.

"I came back to stop it. To make sure that you will get the proper help in time and that you don't die." Her last words were barely more than a whisper.

Neil was about to reply when the door flew open and Holly came bursting in.

"What the hell is going on here? What are you doing in here for so long?" She yelled at them.

Neil sighed. He had already waited too long. "Holly, we need to talk."

* * *

They had been walking silently side by side on their way to Neil's home. They hadn't dared to touch each other again after their first kiss in that empty school room. Breaking up with Holly had hurt more than Neil had expected, even though he hadn't had any feelings for her any more. And Kelly had sensed his uneasiness so she gave him the space he needed right now. That was just another thing he had always loved about her.

"Were we married before you ... got back?" Neil finally broke the silence.

"We were engaged. You ... You got sick before ..." Her voice trailed off. Neil didn't need her to finish to know what she meant. Suddenly he laughed loudly.

"What's so funny?" She looked at him confused. She really couldn't see any humor in her last remark.

"I have to propose to you again." He grinned at her. "Any special wishes?"

Shaking her head slightly she returned his smile. "Just don't wait too long with it. I like being engaged."

"So do I." Suddenly he stopped walking.

"What's wrong?" She looked at him confused.

Neil just smiled at her and kneeled down. "Kelly Simson, will you marry me?"

An even bigger smile than before plastered on her face. She got on her knees right next to him and put his hands in hers. "Yes." She whispered.

The smile on Neil's face mirrored Kelly's and they both pulled each other into a tight embrace and kissed for the next few minutes.

"I should propose to you more often." Neil said teasingly when they finally let go of each other.

"This better be the last time. I have enough of this whole time travel thing. Let's just safe earth and get over with it. Then we can spend the rest of our lives happily married."

"Sounds like a good plan to me." Neil replied grinning. He got up and held his hand down for her to take. When she stood next to him they both started walking again towards his home. This time their hands were tightly entwined.

A.N.: I hope you like this chapter. I have to apologise for any grammar or spelling mistakes. I'm from Germany so English is a foreign language to me. But I tried my best. Thank you for reading and please review.


	2. Chapter 2

Neil froze in his tracks when he saw his father's mustang parking in front of his house. He just stared at the car a few seconds before Kelly pulled him out of his daze.

"What's wrong?"

"My Dad ..." His voice trailed off.

"What about him"? She looked at him questioningly.

"I didn't know that he was back. He left six weeks ago after Mum ... after she died. I haven't heard anything from him since then." Neil explained quietly.

"Oh ..." Kelly didn't know what she should say. She remembered how Neil had told her about the time his father had practically ran of for weeks after his mother's death. And she also remembered the pained look in his eyes when he had told her about it. At the time he hadn't just lost his mother, but his whole family. And she still resented Chuck Taggert for leaving his son like that.

She was just about to pull Neil closer for a comforting hug when she heard something ringing. Confused she looked at Neil.

"Sounds like your mobile." He told her, a small smile plastering on his face.

"Oh ..." She quickly searched her bag for the phone. "Oh shit, it's my mother." She called out after she looked at the phone.

"Well, don't you want to answer it?"

"Oh yeah, right ... Hey, Mum." She listened to her mother for a few seconds. "Uh, I'm with a friend ... No, we're at his home. Uhm, we're doing a science project together ... in biology." She grinned mischievously at Neil at her last words. Then her face suddenly turned all white. "Shit, today's Dad's birthday." She whispered to Neil as she hold her hand over the phone so her mother couldn't hear her.

"Than you better get home quickly. I know how your Mum loves family parties." He grinned at her.

"I don't have a present ... Or have I?"

"How should I now. We weren't really friends the first time around." He tried hard not to laugh out loud at the panic expression on her face. Kelly glared at him annoyed but deep inside she was glad to see him smile. It was a lot better than the sad look in his eyes a few moments ago. She had missed his smile so much. Only a few hours ago she had thought she would never see him smile at her again.

Sighing she turned her attention back to her mother. "Yes, Mum, I'm sorry. I was so distracted with school and all that I ... I'm on my way." She let out another frustrated sigh. "I guess I have to go." She looked sadly at Neil. She didn't want to leave already. She had just got him back.

"Maybe we could meet after the party? We could celebrate our reunion." Neil smiled at her.

"Sounds like a date." She returned his smile. "You're place or mine? ... Forget that question. I'll meet you here when the party is over."

"I'll be waiting." He pulled her into a tight embrace and kissed her. It felt so good to be near her again.

"I don't want to leave you again." She could feel the tears well up in her eyes. She hated being so weak.

"Don't worry, I'm not planning on going anywhere." He assured her.

"Promise?"

"Promise."

* * *

When Neil stepped into the kitchen he saw his father's bags laying on the table. For a few moments he could do nothing else but stare at them. 

"Hey." Startled he turned around and saw his father standing behind him.

"Dad ..."

"I forgot my fishing gear. I thought about spending some time in the old cottage." When he saw the disappointed look on Neil's face he went on. "You could join me."

Immediately Neil's face turned to stone. "I don't go to the cottage anymore. You know that."

"I know that as a twelve year old you didn't want to spend time with your old man anymore and therefore stopped coming on our fishing trips. You're 22 now." His father replied sarcastically.

"When are you leaving?" He asked quietly. He really didn't want to discuss with his father why he had stopped coming to the cottage anymore.

"First thing in the morning."

Neil nodded shortly and then left to go to his room. His father would never change. The only important person in Chuck Taggert's life was Chuck Taggert himself. No one else mattered.

* * *

Sighing Neil sat down at his desk before his computer and checked his emails. Kurt had written. He wanted them all to meet in the Diner tonight. He sighed. If Kurt had new information about the Sentients or something else as important this could take the whole night. For a second he thought about telling Kurt that he couldn't make it tonight. But his email had really sounded urgent and he figured saving the planet was slightly more important than having a fun night with Kelly. Sighing he picked up his mobile to leave a message for Kelly when he remembered that he didn't have her mobile number. That meant he had to call her at her house. He should have that number on his class list lying around here somewhere. 

It only took him a few minutes to find the list but he waited two hours before he actually called. He wanted to be absolutely sure that Kelly would be back home when he called. While the phone was ringing, he prayed to every god he knew that Kelly would answer the phone herself. When he heard her mother's voice on the other end of the line he took that as a proof that God really didn't exist.

"Hi, Mrs. Simson. This is Neil Taggert. I'd like to talk to Kelly." He could feel his heartbeat fasten as he waited for a reply. Talking to that woman had always made him nervous.

"Who are you?" She sounded quiet suspicious. Margaret Simson had already planned Kelly's life in every detail. She would marry James Preston, the son of a business partner of Mr. Simson, and she would spend her life raising her children and spending her free time in the local club. Any other man crossing paths with Kelly was therefore a threat to that plan.

"Kelly and I are on the same school. We're doing a science project together. In biology." He had to smile at the memory of the mischievous grin on Kelly's face when she had come up with that lie the first time.

"We're celebrating her father's birthday. Can't this wait until tomorrow?" This woman was really very persistent when it came to protecting her daughter from other men. But Neil could be as persistent himself.

"I'm afraid it can't, Mrs. Simson. It's really very important. It will only take a minute."

He could hear her sigh and he knew he had won.

"I'll get her. Just wait a minute."

"Thanks." Round One goes to Neil Taggert, he thought smiling. Unfortunately he knew for a fact that Margaret Simson would win several other rounds against him in the future. This woman really hated everything about him. And he didn't think it would be any different this time.

"Neil?" He could hear Kelly's voice over the phone.

"Hey, there's a slight change in plan for tonight." He explained quickly what Kurt had written and asked if she would like to meet him in the diner. "This way I can introduce you to everyone."

"Neil, I already know them."

"Oh ..."

"Well, I used to know them ... Oh god, this is more complicated than I thought. This whole family meeting is like a big déjà vu. I have to hear all the awful stories all over again." She sighed.

"I know what you mean." Neil laughed.

"Okay, I meet you there as soon as I get out of here. I can't wait to see you again." She whispered.

"Neither can I." His voice suddenly sounded a bit hoarse and he swallowed to clear his throat. He really couldn't wait to see her again.

"Okay, good bye, Neil. I'm glad I could help you." She suddenly spoke up louder. Her mother had probably poked her head in to see what was keeping Kelly so long.

"I love you." Smiling he put the phone down. He closed his eyes for a moment. He still couldn't believe she had come back. He had expected to wait another two years before she would finally notice that he wasn't such a jerk as she had always thought. To have her with him again now was the best thing that happened since he came back.

After staring at the phone for a few minutes he decided to talk to his father again. Maybe he could convince him to come to the diner too. He found him in the living room watching a football game.

"Who's winning?" Neil asked casually.

"The wrong team." Chuck Taggert groaned.

"Too bad." Neil sat down on the couch and watched the game for a few minutes. He started to feel really nervous. He knew his father would never agree to come to the diner this evening. He had made it clear before he left for his little road trip that he didn't want to have anything to do with saving this planet anymore. And yet Neil tried to get him to stay and help them again. He knew he was being stupid but for some reason he wanted his father to be around a little bit longer.

"Everyone's meeting in the diner tonight. Why don't you come? They still make this horrible chili you like so much." He tried to make his voice sound steady but he wasn't sure if he had succeeded.

"I think I rather stay home. That chili really wasn't that good." Chuck never turned his eyes of the TV as he spoke.

Neil tried not to show his disappointment. "Maybe you just want to meet the others?" He hated how bitter his voice sounded. He didn't want to show any emotions in front of his father.

"Not really." Again Chuck just stared at the TV. If he had cared to look at his son at this moment he would have noticed the despair showing on his face for a few seconds. But Neil had always been good at hiding his feelings, especially when it came to his father. So when Chuck did finally look at this son a few moments later, he saw nothing more than a young man watching a football game on TV.

Tbc

A.N.: I hope you liked this Chapter. Thank you for reading and please review. :-)


	3. Chapter 3

Neil had just opened the door to the diner when he saw Kelly quickly walking in his direction. He let the door fall close again and walked towards her. He pulled her into a tight embrace as soon as they met and leant down to kiss her. Neil never wanted to let get of her again at this moment. After all that happened the past few weeks she was the only good thing in his life right now.

"I missed you too." Kelly smiled at him.

"You're early." Neil stated, smiling back at her.

"I couldn't stay there one second longer. God, I had no idea how boring my family can be." She let out a frustrated sigh.

"I could have told you." Neil replied grinning. "Let's go inside. I think I saw Kurt already waiting."

When they stepped into the diner Kurt looked surprised at Neil's unexpected company. She looked slightly familiar to him, he just couldn't put a name to the face.

"Hey, I'm Kelly Simson." Kelly introduced herself when they had reached the table Kurt was sitting at.

"Hey, Kurt Mendell." He looked at Neil with an arched eyebrow. Now he knew where he had seen her before. To one of NASA's several parties Neil had come with her. At the time he had just thought of her as Neil's girlfriend. Only later had Neil told him that he had gotten married to her a few days earlier, but that they had kept it to themselves. They had wanted to enjoy their first weeks of marriage without any family interference and had planned to tell everyone after the Odyssey 5 Mission. Apparently the Simson family hadn't been too thrilled about their daughter's fiancé and, according to Neil, his father didn't care anyway. So they had just found themselves this small church outside of Houston and got married with only the Priest to witness. But Neil had told him that he didn't get together with Kelly until College, so what was he doing here holding hands with her now?

"I know who you are, Dr. Mendell." Kelly told him smiling as both she and Neil took a seat opposite from Kurt.

He looked questioningly at them so Kelly started explaining why she was here. Kurt looked stunned first but then his expression turned from confused to worry when she told him what had – or better would – happen to Neil.

"Wow ..." Was all he managed to press out at first. But then his scientific curiosity started to kick in. "Why did the seeker send you back and not one of us?"

"He said that every person can only travel back in time once. If he had send one of you back, you would have died." Kelly explained.

"Well, that wouldn't have been very helpful." Kurt replied dryly. "And he just send you back like this?"

"Well, he did need a bit of convincing but in the end he agreed."

Kurt nodded slowly. He was sure there was more to it than Kelly was willing to admit but he decided not to ask any more questions in that direction. At least not for now. "So, Neil told you all about us?"

"Most of it, yeah. He never told me anything specific other than that he was send back in time to save the earth from destruction." She turned to Neil. "You always wanted to keep me safe and away from all that. You never told me anything about the things you were doing. I don't hope you're planning to repeat that."

"Would I have a chance?"

"No." Kelly replied grinning.

At this moment a waitress came and put two plates of chili on the table.

"If I had known that Neil would bring someone I would have ordered three plates." Kurt said apologizing.

"That's okay, you can have mine. I'm not hungry anyway." Neil said quickly and shoved his plate in front of Kelly.

"Forget it, you're eating that. Could we have another plate, please?" He asked the still waiting waitress. "Unless you want something else, of course." He said to Kelly.

"Nothing for me, please. I just ate hundreds of different cakes at my Dad's birthday party." Kelly laughed.

"Anything else I can get you?" The waitress asked impatiently.

"No, thanks." Kelly replied and the waitress quickly walked away. "Nice service. No wonder you like it here so much." She said grinning.

"It has it's charm." Kurt shrugged. "I don't see you eating." He cocked an eyebrow at Neil who let out a frustrated sigh.

"Can't you just let it go for one day? I'm really not hungry." He said annoyed.

"We have a deal, remember?"

Neil glared at him angrily but eventually he started eating. Surprised Kelly looked from Kurt to Neil.

"What deal?" She asked confused.

"I guess you really haven't told her everything." Kurt grinned before he turned to Kelly. "It's a long story. I'm sure he'll tell you one day."

"Okay ..." Questioningly she looked at Neil. But he just kept staring at his plate and forced himself to eat.

"So, why did you want to see us?" Neil quickly changed the subject. He really didn't want to discuss his eating habits right now.

"I got this strange email this morning. A list of names ... I have no idea what's that supposed to mean. And I don't know who sent it to me" He handed the mail over to Neil.

"I can check the names on the internet. Maybe I can find something out."

"I already checked the first twenty. Nothing suspicious came up." Kurt said.

"Hm, okay, I'll check the rest of them. Maybe we can find some similarities or something." Neil suggested. He rolled his eyes when Kurt waved at his almost untouched chili again. Reluctantly he took a few more bites. Kelly watched them confused. Neil had never been a good eater, but he never had to be forced to eat something either.

"I talked to Angela last night. Looks like she's going to land right on time." Kurt told them. He tried not to sound too excited about the fact that he would see her again in four days. He was surprised at himself that he had missed that stubborn, narrow-minded woman so much.

"Land?" Kelly asked.

"She's been on the ISS for a few weeks." Neil explained.

"I see. And what about Sarah? Isn't she coming?"

This time it was Kurt who answered. "She has a lot of doctor's appointments with her son at the moment. It's been just Neil and me for the past weeks." He paused and looked thoughtfully at Kelly. "Was Corey still alive?" He finally asked quietly.

"Alive and healthy." She told him with a warm smile.

"That's good to know." Kurt let out a relieved sigh. He hadn't been sure if Sarah would have been strong enough to witness her son's death a second time. He looked over at Neil who had started staring at his plate again. It wasn't even half empty.

"So, how did it go with your father?" Kelly asked Neil. She had noticed that something was troubling him and she was pretty sure it had to do with Chuck Taggert.

"Your father?" Kurt looked at Neil surprised.

"He came back today. But before you get too excited he's leaving again tomorrow. He's going fishing. He's planning to stay in his father's old cottage." Neil let out a short harsh laugh. "He even asked me to join him." He said bitter.

Kelly took his hand in hers. "He's not going to stay away forever, you know." She swallowed. She wanted to give him some comfort to make him feel better but she knew that in the end nothing would change. Neil and his father would drift apart more and more each day. In the end they had hardly spoken a personal word with each other.

"Selfish bastard." Kurt muttered quickly. So that's what was on Neil's mind. He could kick Chuck Taggert's ass. This man was absolutely blind when it came to his youngest son. Kurt had never thought of himself as a very caring person when it came to other people but even he could see that Neil was practically drowning and that man just kept ignoring his son's struggle. He was relieved that Kelly had come back, even if the circumstances could have been better. If anyone could help Neil, it was her. Kurt could still remember how Neil had told him about Kelly the first time. They had been in the shuttle already and he had caught Neil staring at her picture. The way his eyes had been beaming with joy when he had talked about her Kurt had realized immediately how deeply in love Neil was with her. And the way Kelly was looking at him right now she felt the same way.

* * *

Kelly and Neil stayed in the diner another hour before they went back to Neil's home. They were both yearning to spend some time alone with each other. When Neil closed the front door behind them Kelly pulled a bottle out of her bag.

"What's that?" Neil asked curiously.

"Champagne. I smuggled it out from home. After all, we got engaged today – for the second time – and we haven't even celebrated that properly." Kelly told him in a seducing voice.

"You're absolutely right." He pulled her closer and gave her a long, deep kiss. Then he took her hand and lead her down the hall. He poked his head into the living room. It was empty. "Looks like my Dad went to bed already." He said smiling as he lead Kelly further into the room and then pulled her down on the couch with him.

"Don't you want to get some glasses first?" She said mockingly. He through her an almost desperate look that made her laugh out loud. "Oh well, maybe we can just share the bottle."

"Sounds good to me." He said grinning. Then he grabbed the bottle, opened it and took a long sip.

"Hey, leave something for me." Kelly laughed and grabbed the bottle out of his hands. It took them less than half an hour to empty the bottle.

"Maybe we should get to your room?" Kelly whispered after a while. The air between them got more intense with every passing second and their kisses and touches got more and more demanding.

"Do we have to?" Neil groaned. He wasn't sure if walking was an option for him at the moment.

"Come on, I don't want your Dad to find us here." Laughing she pulled him off the couch.

"You're thinking of my Dad now?" Neil exclaimed, feigning indignation. His voice sounded slightly slurred already. They were both visibly drunk by now and held on to each other tightly to stop themselves from falling back on the floor.

"Don't worry, you're the only man on my mind tonight." She breathed into his ear.

On the stairs to the first floor they both stumbled and Kelly fell flat on top of Neil. They both broke out in a fit of laughter as they struggled to get up.

"We're gonna wake your Dad." Kelly whispered laughing.

"Forget him." Neil said and pulled her closer for another long kiss. Kelly let out a small moan as he let his hand slide under her shirt.

"Love me..." She groaned.

"Whatever happened with no sex before marriage?" Neil teased her.

"Practically we already are married, we're just in the wrong time line." Kelly whispered smiling. "And now stop talking and show me your bedroom, Mr. Taggert. It's about time we renew this marriage." This time it was Neil who moaned slightly as she slid her hand between his legs.

"As you wish, Mrs. Taggert." He laughed. Then he pulled her up and they both stumbled up the stairs towards his room.

Slightly shocked Chuck Taggert stood in the kitchen and listened as Neil and Kelly went further up the stairs. Of course he had known that his son had a sex life. He was 22 after all. But so far he had never been forced to almost witness it. The way the two had sounded he had been afraid they would start doing it right there on the stairs. Chuck had thought about letting them know he was in the kitchen but that really would have been too embarrassing. Also he had no idea who that woman was. She hadn't sounded like Holly. And what was all that talk about marriage?

Tbc

A.N.: I hope you liked this chapter. Thank you for reading and please review.


	4. Chapter 4

Smiling Kelly watched Neil sleep beside her. She let her fingers gently slide along his cheeks, careful not to wake him. She enjoyed seeing him asleep. It was the only time that he looked peaceful and content. She knew that as soon as he would wake up there would be this sad look in his eyes that never really disappeared, no matter how happy he seemed. She glanced down to his hands and her fingers began gently tracing the two small scars on his wrists. They were a constant reminder of all the pain in his life and she wished deeply that there would be anything she could do to make them disappear.

After a few minutes Neil began to stir and slowly opened his eyes. A smile appeared on his face when he saw Kelly next to him.

"I was afraid it was just a dream." He whispered in a still sleepy voice.

"If it is, I don't ever want to wake up again." She replied, giving him a warm smile. Then she leant down and gave him a long kiss. "Good Morning."

"Good Morning to you too." He grinned and kissed her back even longer. "I could stay here with you for the rest of my life." He said after they finally pulled away front each other again.

"How about we get some breakfast before we move to your bed permanently? I'm starving." She told him.

"I guess I could make us some." Sighing he got out of bed and put on a shirt and trousers that had been lying on the floor.

"Call me when you're done." Kelly said yawning and crawled back under the blanket. Without Neil's warm body beside her she got cold fast.

Smiling Neil shook his head before he stepped out of the room.

* * *

When Neil entered the kitchen he saw his father pouring some coffee into a cup.

"Good Morning." He mumbled. Without paying much attention to his father he started making some breakfast for Kelly.

"Morning." Chuck replied. "Want some coffee? You look like you could need some."

Surprised Neil looked up. "Yeah, thanks."

When Neil didn't say anymore Chuck went on. "So, seems like you had quiet a night." He chuckled quietly as he saw Neil blush.

"What do you mean?" Neil asked without taking his eyes from the sandwiches in front of him.

"Come on, I may be old, but I'm neither deaf nor blind. I know you had a woman here last night. And it wasn't Holly."

If possible Neil blushed even more. "Holly and I broke up yesterday." He explained quickly.

"You didn't waste much time." As soon as the words had left his mouth, Chuck wished he could take them back. He hadn't meant to tease his son. He wanted to find out who this woman was and why they had been talking about marriage. Even though Neil was actually 22, to everyone else he had just turned 17 and was still a highschool student. Getting married at this point wasn't the most wise thing to do. He had wanted to talk with Neil about all these things but instead he had made another lame joke and by that had pushed Neil away again – like so many other times before. He could already see the anger well up in Neil's eyes. He was never very good at talking to his son. It had all been so much easier with Mark.

"And why do you care?" Neil hissed angrily. He couldn't believe his father. For six weeks he hadn't heard a word from him – not one call. And here he was asking questions about his sex life and whether or not he had waited long enough after his breakup with Holly.

"Neil, I didn't mean ..." Chuck began but Neil interrupted him.

"I broke up with Holly years ago, Dad. I just had to pretend we were a couple all this time so this stupid time line doesn't get changed too much. Well, I guess the time line already has changed. Mum is dead. It really can't get any worth than that." He yelled.

"Don't you dare bring your mother into this." Chuck hissed. They both glared at each other for a while until they were interrupted by a suppressed cough. Startled they looked to the kitchen door where Kelly was standing, looking slightly uncomfortable.

"Uh, I thought I help you with breakfast ..." She said hesitantly.

Chuck let out a deep breath and without looking at Neil anymore he left the kitchen. Hesitantly Kelly walked over to where Neil was standing and put her hand on his arm. He was trembling visibly.

"You're okay?" She asked quietly.

He nodded shortly and silently went on preparing breakfast. He didn't trust his voice right now to say anything. When he was done he shoved the plate in front of Kelly and leant against the kitchen wall.

"Don't you want anything?" Kelly asked surprised.

"I'm not hungry." Neil replied quietly. He hadn't looked at her as he spoke, he just kept staring at the coffee mug in his hands.

"You should eat more. You look awfully thin. I didn't remember you were that skinny in highschool." Kelly tried to tease him. But in truth she was starting to worry. He had hardly eaten anything yesterday. And after what they did last night he should be starving just like she was. And then there was the way Kurt had kept insisting that he eat something yesterday evening.

"Why is everyone so obsessed with my weight lately?" Neil replied. He tried to hide his anger, but Kelly picked up on it anyway. She knew him too well by now to not notice when he was angry.

"We're just worried about you." She tried to explain quietly.

"Well, stop it. I'm fine." He paused for a moment. "I'm going for a run. You wanna come?"

Kelly considered that for a moment. She wasn't much of a runner really but she didn't want to leave Neil alone now. On the other hand there was still her family. If she didn't go home soon her parents would find out that she had spend the night somewhere other than her room. She groaned. She was 22 years old. She really shouldn't have to worry about that.

"I guess I have to go back home." She sighed. "This whole being 17 again thing really sucks."

"Yeah, it does." Neil chuckled. Kelly was relieved to see him less tensed again.

"I'll be back as soon as I can. I'll just tell my parents I'm going shopping. Then we have all day." She said grinning. "I can help you check the names then."

"You really don't have to do that. I can ..."

"You promised you wouldn't shut me out this time." Kelly interrupted him. "I really want to help."

Neil sighed. "Okay, I'm looking forward to your help then." They both smiled at each other lovingly.

* * *

Neil had just left when Kurt arrived at the Taggert house. He was relieved to find Chuck hadn't left yet. He really needed to talk to him.

"Hey Chuck." Kurt greeted his friend when Chuck opened the door. "Long time no see." He said smugly.

"Kurt." Chuck nodded shortly before he let him in. This was the last thing he wanted. He wished he had just packed his things and left first thing in the morning. But he had stayed to talk to Neil about last night. And instead of getting anything out of him they had just fought as usual. He just had no idea how to talk to his son anymore. And now he had to waste even more time talking to Kurt.

"Is Neil home?"

"I think he went jogging." Chuck replied. He hoped Kurt would leave again now that he knew that Neil wasn't here.

"Good ... I need to talk to you." Kurt said earnestly.

Chuck noticed the worried look in Kurt's eyes. Probably some new Sentients threat, Chuck thought angrily. "Look, whatever it is, I don't want to know about it. I told you, I don't care about the Sentients anymore." He turned his back on Kurt and went down the hall.

Kurt quickly followed him. "I'm not here to talk to you about the Sentients, Chuck, I need to talk to you about Neil."

Chuck sighed. After his talk with Neil this morning he wasn't particularly interested at the moment in anything concerning his son either. "What about him?" He asked angrily.

"I'm worried about him. He ..."

"He seemed fine to me." Chuck interrupted him. He hoped Kurt would get the point and leave.

Kurt shook his head in disbelieve. "He's not fine. He's hurting, Chuck, don't you see that? With everything that happened ..."

"I miss his mother too. Too much to give him any comfort now." Chuck swallowed. The thought alone about his wife made the despair inside him grow more and more.

"This is not just about Paige. Look, Neil told me some things. I had to made him drunk but eventually he told me everything. And I promised him that I wouldn't tell anyone, but ... He needs you, Chuck. He's struggling with a lot of issues right now and I don't think that ..." He paused, searching for the right words to explain to Chuck that now Neil needed his father more than anything, without giving away what Neil had told him in trust.

"Did you ever asked yourself why Neil stopped coming on those fishing trips with you and your friend?" He finally asked Chuck.

"He was twelve. Boys in that age don't like to spend time with their parents anymore."

"Mark never stopped coming with you."

"Neil is nothing like Mark. They couldn't be more different." Chuck said quickly. Mark was the last thing he wanted to be reminded of.

"You're right. Neil isn't like Mark." Kurt shook his head slightly. He couldn't believe that after all that Mark did, Chuck still saw him as his Golden Boy. No matter how hard Neil tried to prove the opposite: For Chuck he would always be the kid that came home late at night every weekend smelling of pot and alcohol. "Neil stopped coming to the cottage without ever giving you a good reason why. Did you ever ask yourself why? Did you ask him?"

"I don't know what you're trying to ..." Chuck started but was interrupted by Kurt.

"Did you ever ask yourself why he started taking drugs? Why he was drinking so much alcohol when other kids at his age didn't even know what that was?" He paused a second to regain his composure again. He got more and more agitated with every second. "Did you ever ask yourself why he tried to commit suicide at the age of 14? Did you ask him what was so bad in his life that he didn't want to live anymore?"

"You know nothing about my son. He was drunk when he cut his wrists. He said so himself. It was an accident."

Kurt let out a frustrated sigh. "You don't really believe that, do you?"

"We sent him to see a therapist. He hold us that Neil was okay. He wasn't suffering from depression or anything. Here was nothing wrong with him other that he liked drugs and alcohol too much. He was always a problem child and we did everything to help him ..."

"You did nothing." Kurt suddenly yelled. "You let him alone with your friend in that cottage even though your five year old son begged you not to. He could hear you and Mark laughing outside while _your friend_ ... Paige called him a liar when he told her what _your friend_ was doing to him. You only screamed at him when you found drugs on him. You gave up on him when he didn't turn out to be the perfect son. And now he's starving himself to death right before your eyes and you still don't see it. You just pack up your things and leave. So don't tell me you were trying to help him." Kurt was so furious now that he was trembling all over.

"What are you talking about?" Chuck asked stunned. He felt taken aback by Kurt's outbreak. He had never seen him so agitated when it came to other people's problems. But the things he was talking about ...

"What do you think? Talk to your son, Chuck. Help him before it is too late. Because as much as I'm trying I'm not the person he needs right now." He shook his head again at the stunned expression on Chuck's face. He hoped his words would hit home with Chuck eventually because he didn't know what else to say. "Tell Neil I call him later." Without saying another word Kurt turned around and left.

Chuck just stood in the middle of the room starting at the empty space where Kurt had been standing before. He tried to process what he had been telling him. It had sounded almost like ... But that couldn't be. Whatever Neil had told Kurt, he must have misunderstood him. After all, he said Neil had been drunk when they spoke. And he doubted that Neil had been the only one drinking. Charlie Benson had been his friends for years. Every month they had been going on these fishing trips and for years Neil and Mark had joined them. He trusted Charlie with his life. He would never do anything to Neil or any other person.

* * *

When Neil got home from his run he felt more exhausted than usual. Last night must have tired him out more than he thought, he smiled at himself. Still breathless he stepped into the kitchen and opened the refrigerator to get something to drink. He was just about to open the bottle when a wave of dizziness hit him and the world around him began to spin. He tried to hold onto the kitchen counter but it was too late. His knees gave in and everything around him turned black even before he hit the floor.

Chuck sat in the living room, still thinking about what Kurt had said, when he heard the glass splinter in the kitchen. "Everything all right in there?" He called out. When he didn't get a reply he shook his head. His son was even more stubborn than he. He turned back to his thoughts but when he didn't hear any more sounds from the kitchen he started to get worried. Shouldn't he at least hear something coming from the kitchen if Neil was in there?

"Neil?" He called out again. And again he got no reply. Cursing he got up to check what was going on. "Hey, what are you ..." He began. The he saw his son lying on the floor.

"Neil!" He quickly walked over to him and knelt beside him. "Neil, what's wrong? Can you hear me?" He searched for a pulse. He let out a relieved breath when he found one. It was weak but his heart was still beating.

Chuck quickly grabbed a phone laying on the nearby counter and called 911, his eyes never leaving sight of his son. Neil looked so lifeless and pale that it made Chuck cringe inside. He had seen his son like this just once before in his life and then he had almost lost him. The image of Neil laying in his own blood all those years ago came into his mind. He grabbed for Neil's hand and tried to ignore the scar on his wrist. The thought hit him that he might have ignored those scars far too long. But he couldn't think of that now. Whatever was wrong with Neil, he hadn't done this to himself this time. He couldn't have. As he tried to concentrate on his son's current condition Kurt's words kept repeating themselves in his head.

Tbc

A.N.: I hope you like this chapter. Thank you for reading and please review. I really would like to have some feedback to know if this story is any good or just absolutely bad.


	5. Chapter 5

Anxiously Kurt sat in the waiting area of the Houston General Hospital. When Chuck had called him and told him that Neil had been admitted to the hospital he had rushed here as fast as he could. According to Chuck Neil had collapsed after his morning jog. Kurt had been afraid for some time that something like this would happen. Neil had lost weight with every passing day. It had been just a matter of time before it would be too much for his body.

He had tried to help him but he knew that there wasn't much he could do. And now all he could do was sitting here and waiting for Chuck to tell him any news. He knew that Neil was out of danger, but he didn't want to leave before he could see that for himself. But so far there were only relatives allowed to see him.

As Kurt sat there and waited, he thought back to the night when Neil had told him his biggest secret.

* * *

It was already late at night and both Kurt and Neil were visibly drunk by then. They had just emptied what seemed to be their hundredth bottle of beer. Kurt had thought that it would be good for Neil to drown his sorrows in alcohol – that had always worked pretty good for himself. And he had hoped that he might get Neil to talk about his problems. He knew that something was bothering his friend, but so far Neil had always managed to change the subject as soon as Kurt had asked questions in that direction.

"I bet you miss drinking alcohol whenever you want. I know I would." Kurt chuckled. He was referring to the fact that Neil had been a 22 year old astronaut only a few month ago and could have easily gone into any bar to get a drink. Now, as a 17 year old high school student, he had to ask his older friends to buy him alcohol. That had to be frustrating.

"Actually, I was just allowed to drink alcohol legally for less than a year." Neil stated. His speech was slightly slurred. He was visibly a lot more drunk than Kurt by now. Even though they had drank the same amount of alcohol, Kurt was used to a lot more and still felt more sober than Neil.

"Stupid laws." Kurt laughed shortly. Then his expression got more serious. "So, are you ever going to tell me what's bothering you lately?"

Neil tensed up at that question immediately. He had avoided Kurt's questions over and over again the past few weeks, but now he felt like talking about it might actually be a good thing. He figured it was the alcohol making him more talkative. But he had kept this all to himself for so many years. He wasn't sure if he could ever talk about it.

"I just miss my mom." He said quietly after a while. "And with Dad and Mark gone, it gets kinda lonely at home. I guess I'm just not used to that."

"Why don't I think that that's the whole story?" Kurt asked, raising an eyebrow.

Neil hesitated a moment before he spoke again. "I'm just thinking about a lot lately. I don't know ... this was all easier the first time around. I managed to forget everything ... I could just force myself to not think about it, but now ... after seeing him at the funeral ... it keeps coming back. I dream of it every night and no matter what I do, it just doesn't stop." Neil had spoken so quietly, that Kurt had trouble understanding what he had said. He wasn't even sure whether Neil had meant to say it all aloud. But he had heard the despair that had been clearly audible in Neil's voice and that worried him immensely.

"What doesn't stop? What do you dream about?" Kurt wanted to know.

Neil's head jerked up as if he just woke up from a daze. "Nothing, just forget it." He took another beer and took a big swig.

"Come on, you know you can tell me everything. We're friends, right?" Kurt said. He didn't want Neil to close up again.

When Neil looked up, his expression was so devastated that it broke Kurt's heart. What could be so terrible that it would put an expression like that on his face?

"Did you ever talk about it with your parents?" Kurt asked. Whatever Neil's problems were, he hoped he had at least been able to do that. But he knew that Neil's relationship with them hadn't been the best for years, so he doubted that he had ever relayed on them.

"Yeah, like they would have believed me." Neil spat out.

This was just what Kurt had thought. "Have you tried?"

"I told my mom. She called me a liar and grounded me for a week." Neil replied quietly.

"Wow, a whole week. How old were you?"

"Six, I think."

Kurt froze. He stared at Neil for a second. Six? What bad thing could happen to a six year old boy that would haunt him still as an adult? He shuddered at the thought about what might have happened to Neil.

"Neil, what did you tell your mother?"

Neil kept quiet for so long that Kurt didn't think he was going to respond to his last question. He wasn't even sure that Neil had heard him. The more surprised he was when Neil suddenly started talking again.

"I told her that ... that I didn't want to stay alone at the cottage with him ... because he ... he did these things and I ..." Neil was visibly trembling at the memory and he struggled to find the right words. He still wasn't sure if he could talk about it. But he felt that if he didn't tell anyone soon that ... that he would do something stupid again.

Kurt watched Neil's struggle, as he waited for him to continue. He already suspected what would come next but he still refused to really believe it.

"Who is he?" Kurt asked carefully. He wanted Neil to continue.

"Dad used to take Mark and me with him on his fishing trips once a month. His friend was always coming with us. They had known each other for years, since college I think." He swallowed. "I could hear Dad and Mark laughing outside the cottage. They always sat near the window to my room, watching the stars. They had a telescope and Dad would show him all the stars and explain everything to him. I always wanted to come out with them, but Dad kept saying I was too young and wouldn't understand anything anyway. I could always hear them laughing outside, when ..." He stopped again. He wasn't sure if he could keep talking.

"When what?" Kurt asked quietly after a while. He was afraid of the answer.

Neil closed his eyes for a moment before he went on. "Dad said that his friend would watch me while he was outside with Mark. That I should listen to him and do whatever he told me to do ... He always came into my room every night we spend in the cottage. And he ... he did these things ... I told him I didn't want that but he didn't care ... After the first time I kept begging Dad to let me come out with him but he wouldn't hear any of it." A single tear was falling down Neil's face.

Kurt sat shocked for a moment. He didn't know what to say. What was there to say to something like this?

"And you were just six?" He finally choked out.

"Five ... I was five the first time. It took me a while to tell mom." He shrugged.

The first time – these words kept repeating in Kurt's head. "For how long did that go?" He wanted – no, he needed to know.

"Until I was twelve. That's when I told them I didn't want to go there again." Neil whispered. "We went there every month for a weekend and at some point I just ... I just couldn't do it anymore. I wanted to spend some time with Dad, but ... I just couldn't ..." Trembling he took another swig from his beer.

"That's seven years ..." Kurt's voice trailed off. He couldn't believe this – Neil had been sexually abused for seven years and neither of his parents had noticed anything. He imagined Neil when he told his mother and she just called him a liar. It was no wonder he never spoke about it again – if his own mother wouldn't believe him, who would? He suddenly remembered the scars he had seen on Neil's wrists. He had always wondered ...

"Is that why you cut your wrists?" He quietly asked. He didn't want to push Neil but he thought it was important for him to let it all out. If he didn't do it now, he might never get the courage to talk about it again.

"That was stupid. I ... I just couldn't forget about it and for a while I thought that if I just drank enough or took some drugs it would all go away ... But I never felt any better about it. I just ... One night it just got all too much and I ... I thought it would be best if I ..." His voice broke off and he looked guilty at Kurt. "I know it was stupid. And I know I should have done something to stop him, but I ..." He stopped again, tears falling down his face.

It suddenly hit Kurt that Neil was blaming himself for what happened.

"Neil, look at me." Kurt took Neil's hand and forced him to look up. He noticed how Neil flinched at the sudden contact. "You did nothing wrong. You were just a child, there was nothing you could have done."

Helplessly Neil looked at him. The fear in his eyes broke Kurt's heart.

"You can't tell anyone, Kurt. Promise me, you can't tell this to anyone." Neil pleaded. He was suddenly scared that people would find out about this and almost regretted talking about it.

Kurt thought about it for a minute. He knew he should at least tell Chuck. He was Neil's father. He should know what happened to his son. Maybe he could help him – Kurt wasn't sure he was the right person to help Neil through this. But he wasn't sure if Chuck was that person either. And since he was the only person Neil had confided in, he was the one who would help him. He wasn't exactly sure yet how, but he would come up with something.

"Don't worry. I won't tell anyone. But Neil, if you ever want to talk about it, anytime, call me. I'm always here for you."

"Thanks." Neil choked out.

Suddenly Kurt had an idea. "I know you're not eating much lately. I assume it has to do with what you just told me ... How about we make a pact."

"A pact?" Neil looked up confused.

"Yeah ... You eat at least three meals – real meals – every day and I ..." He chuckled. "I stop drinking."

"You're kidding." Neil shook his head. He couldn't believe Kurt would actually giving up is beloved alcohol.

"No, I'm serious. So, you're in?" He hold his hand out for Neil to take.

Neil hesitated a second before he took it.

"It's a deal." Kurt said while he shook Neil's hand.

* * *

Kurt had been thinking about that night every day for weeks. It had taken him some time but he eventually knew who this friend of Chuck was that Neil had talked about – Charlie Benson. He had met him on Paige's funeral. Chuck had told him about their joined fishing trips in the past and he told him that Charlie had once saved his life – Kurt didn't know the whole story but he had understood that both Paige and Chuck thought highly about that man. They never knew how wrong they were.

A.N.: Sorry it took me so long to update this story. I promise I won't wait that long with the next chapter. I hope you like this chapter. Thank you for reading and please review. :-)


	6. Chapter 6

Anxiously Chuck sat beside Neil's hospital bed. He hadn't woken up yet after his collapse. According to the doctor he was seriously undernourished . The doctor had said it was obvious he had some kind of eating disorder. His son almost starved himself to death. Kurt had warned him about it, but he didn't listen. Yet he only had to look at his son. He was hardly more than skin and bones. How could he have been so blind? He had seen Neil this morning. He should have known something was wrong. But Neil had always been too good at hiding.

For the first time Chuck wondered why that was. When did Neil start turning away from his family? He remembered Kurt's words from this morning. That Charlie had done something to Neil. The implications he had made were just too hard to believe. He had known Charlie half his live. The man was a hero in every possible way. And he was his best friend. He just couldn't believe that he would have done anything to hurt Neil.

Suddenly he noticed his son stir in his sleep. Squeezing his hand more tightly, he leaned closer to Neil.

"Neil, wake up. Please son, open your eyes." He was surprise how pleading and desperate his voice sounded. He wasn't used to pleading. He usually got what he wanted. But he couldn't order Neil to wake up. He had to do this by himself. "Please, wake up."

Relieved he saw how Neil's eyes slowly opened. Confused Neil looked around himself until his eyes fell on his father.

"Dad?" He asked in a hoarse voice.

"I'm here, Neil. It's okay. You're going to be okay." Chuck was so relieved to see his son finally awake that he wasn't even really aware of what he was saying. He just knew that he needed Neil to stay awake.

"What happened?" Neil asked weakly.

"You collapsed. Neil, why haven't you been eating?" He cursed himself for being so direct when he saw that Neil's head turned away from him. Instead of looking at his father, he was looking outside the window. Though Chuck wasn't sure if he even registered anything out there.

"Neil, look at me." Chuck put his hand on Neil's arm, willing him to turn back to him. "Neil, please."

Neil was surprised at the pleading tone in his father's voice. He wasn't used to that. His father usually yelled at him or he simply ignored him. This was different. This was probably the first time that his father asked him to talk to him. But he couldn't talk now. Not about that. What was he supposed to say? He wasn't even sure himself why it was to hard for him to take even a small bite of food lately.

Chuck was about so say something again, when the door to the room opened.

"Hey, the Doc said it was all right if I came in for a few minutes." Kurt said as he quietly stepped into the room. "Hey, you're awake." He noticed smiling when Neil turned his head to the visitor.

"He just woke up." Chuck explained.

"Hey." Neil said, looking at Kurt.

"How are you doing?" Kurt asked worried. He tried not to show it, but he was slightly scared at the pale and fragile look of his friend.

"Tired." Neil replied. His voice still sounded weak.

"Looks like you didn't keep your part of our deal." Kurt stated. He had pulled himself a chair and was now sitting next to Chuck.

Guilty Neil looked down on his hands. "I ... I'm sorry." He whispered.

"What deal?" Chuck asked confused.

"Long story." Neil said quickly before Kurt could reply. He was suddenly scared that his father would find out about what he had told Kurt.

Kurt saw the panic in Neil's eyes and tried to calm him. "That's more or less between Neil and me. But let me tell you, your son is the first person that actually stopped me from drinking." He said grinning.

"You stopped drinking?" Chuck asked surprised.

"Yes, three weeks and not one drink. I have to admit, it was hard at first but I feel actually pretty good now." He smiled at the grateful look in Neil's eyes. For now he had turned away Chuck's attention from the reasons why they had made this deal in the first place. But he knew that if he wanted to help Neil, Chuck needed to know the truth. But he couldn't simply break the promise he gave Neil. He didn't trust many people and he didn't want to lose the trust that Neil had put in him.

"You never cease to surprise me." Chuck said dryly. Then he turned his attention back to his son. "Is there anything you need? Some water ...?" His voice trailed off. He wanted to help his son but he had no idea how. This had always been Paige's job.

"Some water maybe."

Satisfied that he could at least do something, Chuck handed the glass of water, standing on a small table next to Neil's bed, to his son.

"Thanks." Neil said gratefully.

The three man sat in silence for a while. When Neil yawned, Kurt took that as a sign that it was time for him to leave. "I don't want to keep you awake. I come by again tomorrow."

"I'm not tired." Neil said quickly. He wasn't ready to spend time alone with his father.

"Yes, you are." Kurt smiled. "I'll call Kelly and let her know what happened. I'm sure she wants to know how you are doing."

XXXXXXX

Neil was released the next day. As soon as Kelly had heard what happened she had rushed to the hospital and had hovered over Neil, never leaving him out of her sight. She had even discussed a plan with Neil's doctor what and how much he was supposed to eat daily and she had told Neil that she would make sure for herself that he stick to the plan.

With Kelly being around all the time, Chuck hadn't had another chance to talk to Neil alone. He hoped that once they were home, Kelly would give them some spare time. But she didn't seem to plan to leave any time soon. And it didn't seem to bother Neil to have her around that much. It surprised Chuck how close the two were. He had seen Neil with Holly a few times, but there had always been a certain distance between them. There was absolutely no sign of distance between him and Kelly. They were acting as if they had known each other for years.

He decided to approach Kelly on this subject. His son hadn't shown any willingness to talk about his relationship with her. Maybe she was more open to his questions.

He caught her alone in the kitchen, preparing something to eat, while Neil was in his room, searching something on the internet.

"Hey, do you need any help?" Chuck asked as he stepped into the kitchen. He wasn't exactly sure how he was supposed to help. He was so helpless when it came to cooking, that Paige had always thrown him out of the kitchen. But Kelly didn't know that.

"Uhm, no, thanks, but I'm almost done here." Kelly replied.

"Oh, okay." Chuck hesitated a second, not sure what to do know. Then he decided to come directly to the point. "So, since when do you know Neil?"

"We're on the same school." Kelly said evasively. She wasn't exactly sure how much Neil had told his father about their relationship and she felt that it wasn't her place to tell him the whole story.

"That's not really an answer to my question." Chuck may not have known Kelly for very long, but he knew an evasive answer when he heard one.

"Look, Mr. Taggert. If you have any questions about my relationship with Neil, I'd feel more comfortable if you would ask him."

"I already tried that. But you may have noticed that Neil and I don't have the best relationship." Chuck said. He tried to ignore the stab of guilt he suddenly felt. He knew that he was probably mostly responsible for that.

"Oh, believe me, I know that." Kelly said sarcastically. She had witnessed several heated discussions between Neil and his father before they had stopped talking to each other at all.

"What that's supposed to mean?" Chuck felt offended.

"Nothing, just forget it. Could you tell Neil that dinner is ready?" Kelly was relieved that she found a way to change the subject. She would have to talk to Neil about what they were going to tell his father.

XXXXXXX

"Could you stop counting every bite I take?" Neil asked in an agitated voice. Kelly had watched him closely throughout dinner and it was starting to annoy him.

"Don't even start. If you would have taken better care of yourself, I wouldn't have to make sure that you eat enough."

Grudgingly Neil took another bite, while Kelly watched him satisfied.

"You sound like an old couple." Chuck stated dryly.

"Well, we are ... kind of." Neil smiled at Kelly.

"What?" Chuck stared at them confused. He hoped his son hadn't done anything stupid.

"At least we were. Or better we will be." Neil tried to clarify the situation. "I got married to Kelly three months before the Odyssey 5 mission. We were going to tell everyone eventually, but those first weeks were just for us." He took Kelly's hand in his and looked at her lovingly.

"Well, in my future we were only engaged, but we had planned to get married as soon as possible." Kelly smiled at Neil. The way the two were looking at each other, Chuck wasn't sure if they even remembered he was still in the room.

"Ahem, your future?" He finally asked irritated.

Kelly looked at Neil before she spoke. "In the future ... something happened. Someone had to go back to prevent that. That someone was me. I'm actually 21 years old, not 17."

Chuck looked at her stunned. This was definitely not what he had expected. Neil had been married? And he hadn't even told his family? "Did your mother knew?" He looked at his son.

"No one knew, Dad. It was just Kelly and me."

For the first time Chuck really understood the break in the relationship with his son. When had Neil turned away from his family so far that he wouldn't even share something this important with them? Kurt's words suddenly came into his mind again. But he pushed them away and concentrated on his son and his girlfriend, wife, fiancée, whatever she was.

"And what are you two planning to do now?"

"Well, Neil has proposed to me again, so we are at least engaged." Kelly smiled at Neil. "Though we didn't plan on telling anyone yet. My parents never were very fond of him and if I introduce him as my fiancé before they even had the chance to meet him, well, I don't think that would go too well."

"What do you mean, your parents weren't too fond of him?" Chuck asked offended. Even though he never stopped criticizing his son, the idea that her parents had thought of him as not good enough for their daughter angered him.

"Oh, it was nothing personal ..." Kelly began quickly.

"They just had already found the perfect husband for their perfect daughter." Neil finished for her teasingly. He looked at her grinning, which earned him a slap on the arm.

"Stop teasing." She scolded him.

Chuck just sat quiet at the table. All this information was still hard to believe. He hardly knew Kelly and yet this young woman had such an intense relationship with his son.

"Don't worry, Dad. We won't get married before we finish highschool. But after that ... well, we don't want to wait too long." Neil looked hesitantly at his father before he decided that it would be better to change the subject. He could see his father was clearly angry about this new information. And he didn't want to have another fight with him. "I checked most of the names on the internet. I got some addresses we should check out."

"Did you call Kurt yet?" Kelly asked, the relieve about this new subject clearly audible in her voice.

"Yes, we're meeting in the diner this afternoon. You want to come?" Neil hesitantly asked his father.

"Is this about the Sentients?" Chuck asked. After Paige's death he had decided that he didn't want to have anything to do with saving the earth. He didn't see any sense in it anymore. But now he wasn't so sure anymore. The prospect of his son getting married in the future, starting his own family, having children maybe, somehow that made it worth fighting again.

"We're not sure. It might. Someone has send Kurt this list with names and the name Project Destiny above. We don't know who send it to him but we're thinking it might be connected with the Sentients." Neil explained.

"Well, since I don't have any other plans, yes, I'm coming." Chuck agreed.

XXXXXXX

Later that day they all met in the diner. Kurt was surprised to see that Chuck had joined them but he decided not to dwell on that fact for too long. He hoped this was a sign that Chuck finally began to take care for his son the way he should have years ago.

"So, what did you find?" Kurt asked Neil after they had all ordered something to drink.

"Nothing specific. I still couldn't find any similarities other that some of them live in the same town. But not all of them, so I'm not sure if that means anything. All in all they are spread over three different towns.

"You have the addresses?"

"Yes, here." Neil handed him the list.

Chuck watched them quietly. He wasn't used to being the silent by-stander and usually it had been him taking the lead when they got new information. But he had been away for so long and obviously they had gotten along quite well without him. The dynamic within their little group had changed and it seemed as if Kurt was their new leader. He was the obvious choice even though Chuck would have never believed he would live up to it. But not having another choice can bring out the best in people – or the worst in his case. While Kurt had apparently gave up the drinking, helped Neil with whatever his problems were and hold everyone together, Chuck had just run away, something he would have never believed he was capable of. But Paige's death had hit him harder than he had ever thought was possible.

"Chuck?" Kurt pulled him back from his thoughts.

"Huh? Sorry, I was just thinking ... What did you say?"

"Would you go check some of these names with Neil in Wellington? Sarah and Kelly will go to Burnes and I check out the names from Hammersmith."

"Yes, that sounds good." Chuck agreed. He wondered silently why Neil didn't go with Kelly, but decided not to ask. He would enjoy spending some time alone with his son. Without Kelly they might even get the chance to talk about some of the things that seemed to bother Neil.

Tbc

A.N.: Special thanks to lapdance22, IritIlan and Emily for your nice comments. They were very encouraging and helpful and I'm always happy to receive feedback for my stories. :-) Thanks everyone else for reading. This chapter got a bit too long so I split it in two parts.


	7. Chapter 7

Chuck and Neil had driven for about two hours in almost complete silence. Chuck had tried to start a conversation several times, but Neil had cut him off again and again. It wasn't because he didn't want to talk with his father. He was more than willing to talk with him about the Sentients, the weather or the latest sports results. But he knew those weren't the themes his father wanted to discuss with him. Since he had been admitted to the hospital because of his collapse his father had tried several times to talk with him about his so called eating disorder. He had also noticed that his father kept staring at the scars on his wrists more and more often. He figured that Kurt had said something to him, even though he didn't think that he had told him everything. He had enough trust in Kurt to not tell those secrets to his father – or anyone else for that matter. And Neil didn't want to talk about it either – not with his father nor with anyone else. He just wanted to forget about it all. It had worked before, it would work again. His mother's death had brought all these issues up again, but he was certain that if he just concentrated hard enough on other things, he would be able to forget it again.

"This must be it." Chuck interrupted Neil's thoughts. "Nice house. Hard to imagine that there are Sentients living in it."

"We don't know if they are Sentients. Maybe they are innocent victims from some Sentient experiment or something." Neil said.

"Well, let's find out then."

They both got out of the car and went to the front door. It only took a little while before a woman in her early forties opened the door.

"Can I help you?" she asked confused when she saw two strangers standing before her.

"Yes, good day, my name is Sam Holmes and this is my assistant Drake Watson." Chuck introduced them with fake names. If she was a Sentient, he didn't want to bring any more attention on them. "We're working for the Galactic News and we are making a survey about the public thoughts on the new NASA program. If you could spare a few minutes?"

"Uhm, well, yes, I guess, if it is only a few minutes." Hesitantly she looked at them and then up in the sky. It was already very clouded and it looked as if it would start raining any minute. "Why don't you come in?" She finally asked and held the door more open for them to enter.

"Thank you. That is very nice of you." Chuck said smiling.

"Thanks." Neil nodded. He couldn't believe that she had actually let them in. Holmes and Watson, Galactic News, only his father could come up with something like that, he thought grinning to himself.

The woman, Sheila Norris, led them to the living room and asked them to take a seat. "Would you like something to drink?" She offered them.

"No, thank you. We really don't want to make any trouble. Maybe we should start with the questions right away. We don't want to take any more of your time than necessary." Chuck said in his most charming voice.

"Of course. Well, let's start then." Mrs. Norris said smiling. The famous Chuck Taggert charm seemed to be working well with her.

Chuck asked her a few general questions about the latest NASA missions and the new robot program that had been introduced to the public a week before. Finally he came to the real reason for their visit.

"What do you think about Project Destiny?" He asked quietly, curious about her reaction.

Sheila Norris froze at the mention of that name. Within seconds her nice, smiling expression turned into hatred. "What do you know about Project Destiny?" She asked in a cold voice.

Nervously Neil looked at his father. Maybe it was best if they would just leave.

"Not much, actually. I'm just hear to ask the questions." Chuck still tried to play the innocent journalist. He wasn't willing to give up so easily. "Maybe you could enlighten me."

"You're not from a newspaper. What do you want?" She had gotten up angrily and stared at both of them with cold eyes.

Both Neil and Chuck slowly got up too. "What are you hiding?" Chuck asked, not bothering anymore to carry on with the act.

"Get out." She hissed.

"Mrs. Norris, I ..."

"Get out!" She screamed again and suddenly she threw herself at them and tried to push them out of the house. She punched Chuck hard in the stomach, which caused him to stumble a few feet behind. The she quickly moved towards Neil. She acted so fast that he didn't even know what happened to him. Suddenly she grabbed him at his throat. Her grasp got only tighter the more Neil tried to free himself. Just when he thought he couldn't get going without taking another breath, Chuck grabbed her from behind and threw her against the wall. It took all his effort to pull her away from Neil. She was a lot stronger than he had anticipated. They were about to leave the house when she quickly grabbed Neil at his hand. He managed to pull himself free, but she left a nasty scratch on his arm.

When they finally got out of the house, it had started to rain already. Quickly they got into the car and drove away.

"Wow, that was close. How can such a nice lady turn into a crazy bitch within seconds?" Neil asked, still slightly out of breath.

"Maybe she was a Sentient." Chuck replied thoughtfully.

"I don't know. She seemed normal ... at first I mean."

"Whatever she was, we should get out of this town as fast as possible. I don't think it would make much sense to contact any more of these people. We'd probably get the same results."

"I better call the others and tell them what happened." Neil said, suddenly worried that they might not be so lucky as he and his father had been when meeting with these people. He tried a few times to get through, but he couldn't get a connection with his mobile. "Damn! This stupid storm. I can't reach them." He called out frustrated. And really, what had started as a simple rain, had quickly turned into an ugly storm.

"We'll never make it back to Houston in this weather. Our cottage is just a few miles from here. We should be safer there. And there is a phone."

"Couldn't we just take a motel?" Neil asked uncomfortably.

"No, too risky. That's probably where they would look for us. If they're even looking for us. I don't want to take any risks." Chuck glanced at his son. He could see the nervousness on his face and again Kurt's words came back to him. Something had happened to Neil in this cottage. Maybe by going back there he would finally find out what that was.

XXXXXXX

Neil got more and more nervous the closer they got to the cottage. He told himself that he was being ridiculous. There was nothing in that cottage that he had to be afraid of. It would be just him and his father staying there. He would be able to use the phone and call Kelly to tell her what happened and to find out if she was all right. And yet he couldn't get rid of the feeling that he wanted to jump out of the car and run in the opposite direction as fast as he could.

Chuck noticed his son's uneasiness growing with each minute they got closer to their destination. He could see that Neil was clutching his hands tightly together. A few times he scrubbed nervously over the scratch on his arm. Something was clearly not right and he wanted to find out what that was.

"You all right?" He asked a few minutes before they would reach the cottage. Neil didn't seem to have heard him as he just kept staring out of the window without responding. "Neil?"

"Huh? What?" Slightly confused Neil looked at his father.

"What were you just thinking about? You looked like you were miles away."

"Uh ... Kelly, I was thinking about Kelly. I'll feel much better when I will be able to call her."

Chuck could see clearly that he wasn't telling the truth. But he decided to wait with further questions until they were inside the cottage. "It will only be a few more minutes." He assured his son. It didn't make him any calmer.

XXXXXXX

When they reached the cottage, Chuck got out and quickly ran over to the porch, where the roof protected him from the heavy rain. When he opened the door he turned around and saw that Neil still hadn't left the car. Instead he just stared at the cottage with wide eyes. He looked almost afraid.

"Neil?" Chuck called for his son. His eyes locked with Neil's and he slowly began to get out of the car. "Hurry up, you'll get soaked with all this rain."

Neil quickened his steps, but walked still fairly slow considering that it was raining like hell.

"What's the matter? You want to get a cold?"

Without responding, Neil stepped into the cottage and went straight for the phone. Chuck watched his son as he waited for Kelly to answer. Neil stared directly at the phone the whole time and held tightly onto the receiver.

"Hey, it's me." Neil said relieved when he heard Kelly's voice on the other line.

"Hey, where are you? I've been trying to reach you." Kelly replied worried.

"There's a pretty heavy storm here, I didn't get a connection. Are you okay?"

"Yes, I am. So, were your guys as crazy as ours?" Kelly asked. She had made a similar experience as Neil and his father.

"Yeah, we only spoke with this one woman. She seemed to be really nice until we mentioned Project Destiny. Then she turned totally crazy and attacked us." Neil explained.

"Same here. Luckily we got out of the house without any bruises. You?"

"Just a scratch. Man, did this woman have fingernails." Neil chuckled.

"Are you on your way back?"

Neil hesitated a second before he replied. "Uhm, no, the storm got too heavy. We ... we're staying in Dad's old cottage." He swallowed.

There was a short silence before Kelly spoke again. "Are you all right? I mean, is this okay with you?"

"Not really." Neil let out a small, nervous laugh. "I would rather stay in the car than here, but I know that's stupid."

"It's not stupid, Neil ... Is the weather really that bad?" Kelly asked worried. She could only imagine what Neil must feel like right now. She wished she could be with him.

"Yes, it is, unfortunately. It's okay, really. It's just for a few hours. Then we can get out of here."

"Okay, uhm ... I gotta got. My mom is calling for something. If you need to talk, call me. Anytime."

"I will. Thanks. I love you." Neil said smiling.

"I love you more." Kelly replied, also smiling. With that they ended their phone call.

Concerned Chuck had listened to the conversation, at least Neil's part of it. He hadn't meant to eavesdrop, but the room wasn't that big. It was hard not to listen. It was clear that Neil didn't feel comfortable in here. He didn't need to have said that on the phone, Chuck could see in his face that he wanted nothing more than to get out of here. But the weather didn't look like it would change anytime soon.

"I think we better get some sleep. It's already getting late and I don't think we will be able to leave before morning anyway." He said to Neil.

"We're staying the night?" Neil asked nervously.

"We can't drive in this weather, Neil. You're room is still yours. There's a bed in there, so it's not like it is going to be uncomfortable." When Neil didn't say anything, Chuck went on. "Well, I'm tired and going to bed. You should do the same. Unless there is something you want to talk about?" Chuck looked expectantly at his son.

"No, let's get to bed." Neil replied quietly. He looked at his old bedroom door, but still stood frozen next to the phone.

Chuck suddenly got worried. Neil looked awfully pale all of the sudden and there was a scared look in his eyes. "Neil? Is everything okay?"

Neil shrugged out of his haze and looked at his father. "Yeah, everything's fine." Then he slowly started walking towards the door. Each step felt heavier as he got closer to the door. When he had finally reached it, he grabbed the door knob to open it. He could feel the panic inside him spreading through his body. His breathing got faster and he held the door knob more tightly. It took him a long while that seemed like hours until he was able to open the door. When he looked inside the room, all the painful memories came flooding back to him.

_He was laying in his bed, the blanket pulled over his head. Through a small slit he watched the door slowly open. He could hear steps coming inside the room and towards his bed. He closed his eyes in anticipation of what would happen soon. Every time he hoped that when HE thought he would be already asleep, HE would leave him alone. But HE never did. When he felt the blanket being raised, he could hear his father and brother laughing outside his window. _

"_Be a good boy, Neil. Remember what your father told you. You have to do what I tell you. Now open your eyes and look at me." He cold feel HIS hand stroking in circles on his stomach._

With a start Neil let loose the knob and stepped back from the door. All color had drained from his face.

Shocked Chuck watched as his son moved back from the door step by step. "Neil, what's wrong?" He put a hand on Neil's shoulder to make him stop walking backwards. He had hoped that might give some comfort to his son, but he was even more shocked at the outcome. Neil turned around quickly and looked at his father terrified. "Don't touch me." He called out, then he turned around and ran out of the cottage.

"Neil!" Chuck called out loud as he ran behind his son. He didn't care about the rain that soaked through his clothes to his skin within seconds. "Neil, wait!"

He could see his son stopping a few meters away from the cottage, leaning against a tree. Seconds before he reached him, he watched Neil sagging on his knees, still holding tightly onto the tree.

"Neil, what's wrong?" He wanted to put an arm around his son's shoulder, but was afraid to scare him away again. Neil was breathing heavily and his whole body was trembling. Chuck didn't think that was because of the cold. "Neil ..." He froze when Neil finally looked up at him. There were tears running down his face and he suddenly looked like the little boy he once was. That image brought a sudden memory back to Chuck.

"_Daddy, please let me come out with you and Mark, please." Again his six year old son begged him to come out with them but he wouldn't hear of it. _

"_Stop it, Neil! I told you before. You're too young. You don't understand what we're talking about anyway. You don't even care about astronomy." Chuck told his son sternly. _

"_Please, Daddy. I won't say a word. Don't leave me alone." Neil started crying. _

"_You're not alone. Uncle Charlie is with you. Now be a good boy and go to bed. And listen to your uncle. I don't want to hear any complaints, understood?" Chuck looked at his son determinedly. It was clear that he wouldn't allow any objection. _

"_Yes, Sir." Neil finally said in a small voice. His shoulders sagged down and he looked sadly at his father. _

No, not sadly, Chuck suddenly realized. He had looked hopeless. He had to clear his throat before he could speak again. "Neil, whatever ... whatever happened in there, you have to talk about it."

"Can we just go home, Dad? Please?" Neil looked at him, tears rolling down his face. "I just want to go home."

Helplessly Chuck looked at the sky. It was still raining and the storm hadn't lessened. But he couldn't bring his son back into the cottage. No matter what had happened, he wouldn't do that to him. "All right, we go home." The enormous relief visible in Neil's eyes broke Chuck's heart.

XXXXXXX

On their way back to Houston, Chuck thought about what had happened. Neil had been scared even before he went into the cottage. For years he had refused to come there and today he had only agreed because there hadn't been another way. But the terrified look in his eyes right after he had stepped back from his old room – it still send chills through his spine. Again and again he heard Kurt's words in his mind. Charlie had done something ... He had let Charlie done something ... And Paige had known ... Right now he could only think of one thing that was horrible enough to bring out such a reaction that Neil had shown today. But he still refused to believe that his best friend for years would be capable of doing something like this. And if Neil really had told Paige, she wouldn't have just ignored it, would she?

He glanced over at his son. Neil sat still on his seat, staring outside the window. He hadn't spoken a single word since they had gotten back into the car. He was still shivering and Chuck was afraid he might be in shock. He didn't think it was just the cold that made his son trembling all over. He was as soaked from the rain as Neil, yet he wasn't shivering at all.

After a long, silent drive they finally reached their home. When Chuck stopped the car, they both sat still for a while.

"We should get out of these wet clothes or we'll get a cold." Chuck finally broke the silence. He knew he sounded lame, but he just didn't know what else to say.

"Yeah ..." Neil replied in a whisper. But he didn't show any sign of getting out of the car.

"Neil ..." Hesitantly Chuck reached for his son's hand. Neil immediately flinched at the contact, but he still didn't say anything. "Let me help you."

Finally he got a reaction from his son. Slowly Neil turned his head to his father. "It's too late, Dad. I don't need your help anymore." He said in a quiet voice. He looked at his father for a while with a sad, pained expression in his eyes before he finally got out of the car and walked towards the house.

Silently Chuck remained in the car for several more minutes. The devastated and hopeless look in Neil's eyes had shocked him to the core. He knew Neil needed help, but he didn't know what to do. And he was afraid, that if he didn't do anything soon, his son might to something to himself, like he had done before. Again memories flashed through his mind.

_He walked up the stairs and called angrily for his son. For hours they had waited for Neil to show up in the restaurant as planned. It was Paige's birthday and instead of giving a huge family party that would only leave her with a lot of work, Chuck had invited her and his sons to a nice family dinner in Paige's favorite restaurant. But Neil had never showed up. _

"_Neil!" He called out furious. "Neil, damn it, answer me!" He stormed into his youngest son's bedroom, but it was empty. Getting even more angry, he turned around and looked down the corridor. When he saw a light under the bathroom door, he quickly went there and opened the door. _

"_Where the hell have you ..." His words froze in his mouth as he saw the most horrible thing he could imagine. His own son laying in his blood and more blood still pouring out from two wounds on his wrists. A blood stained razor lay next to Neil on the floor. "No ..." Chuck choked out as he sagged to the floor and knelt next to his son. He felt for a pulse and almost missed it as it was already too weak. He grabbed for the nearest towel and tried to stop the bleeding. "Paige!" He called out terrified as he watched his son slowly fading away before his eyes." Paige!" _

A shiver went through Chuck as he thought back to that day. When he looked at the house he suddenly got scared at the thought of his son being in there alone. He quickly got out of the car and ran the few meters towards the house and up the stairs in Neil's room. He found his son sitting on his bed. He had already finished changing and was wearing warm clothes.

"I ... I just wanted to make sure you got something dry to wear." Chuck choked out at the questioning look in his son's eyes. Then he stepped back into the corridor, but he didn't close the door entirely. He wanted to make sure that he knew what Neil was doing in there, that he was still moving, still breathing. A cold fear took hold of his heart and he didn't know what he was supposed to do against it.

Tbc

A.N.: I'm sorry that it always takes me so long to update, but sometimes real life gets in the way and writing on four different stories isn't really helpful either. ;-) Again thanks for reading and please review.


	8. Chapter 8

The next morning Neil woke with a pounding headache. He was still feeling as tired as when he had fallen asleep. Nightmares had kept him awake most of the night; they had become so scary that he had been afraid to close his eyes. Only the fact that he felt utterly exhausted had made him fall asleep at all, only to be awaken shortly again by yet another bad dream.

Yawning he stepped into the kitchen, where he found his father preparing breakfast. Not just any simple breakfast: The table was already set, he had made boiled eggs and pancakes – Neil's favorite when his mother had still been alive – the toast was ready and it smelled like fresh coffee.

"Good Morning." Chuck greeted him, smiling.

"Morning." Neil replied, looking around the kitchen in surprise. "Did I forget my birthday or something?"

"I just thought it would be nice to have a real breakfast together for a change." Chuck said while he put some pancakes on Neil's plate. They looked slightly burned, but coming from Chuck, who never spend any more time in the kitchen than necessary, that wasn't too surprising.

Neil looked at the food in front of him for a while. He didn't feel hungry at all. He figured his so called eating disorder was the reason for that, as the thought alone of eating made him feel sick. Thinking about it, he had felt sick since he got out of bed this morning. "I'm not really hungry. But thanks."

"You're eating this. Kelly isn't the only one who's watching you stick to your plan. I don't want to find you lying unconscious on the floor again." Chuck said determinedly.

Sighing Neil forced himself to eat something, but only after a few bites he felt like throwing up. He shoved the plate away; the smell of pancakes made him feel even more sick.

"Neil ..." Chuck started to chastise him for not eating, but he stopped when he saw his son's pale face. "Are you okay?"

"I ... I don't feel so good." Neil choked out. Then he suddenly jumped up and ran out of the kitchen straight into the bathroom. He reached the toilet just in time before he started throwing up the intents of his stomach.

Chuck reached the bathroom in time to see his son leaning back against the wall. He was slightly trembling and looked even paler than before. "Neil, what's wrong?"

Neil took a few deep breaths before he answered. "I don't know. I just ... I felt sick and ..." His voice trailed off and he looked apologetic at his father. "Sorry, I didn't sleep so well. I felt sick before I came downstairs. I should have stick to the coffee."

"Well, you have to eat something." But when he looked at his son, he didn't think that forcing him to eat at this point was such a good idea. "Let's get you back to bed. I make you some soup later, when you feel a bit better."

Neil wanted to object first, but when he got up, he felt slightly dizzy. Getting back to bed didn't seem like such a bad idea after all.

XXXXXXX

Chuck had stayed with Neil until his son had fallen back asleep. It hadn't taken very long. Now he was sitting in the kitchen, thinking about what had happened. He was worried about his son. Neil had said he hadn't been sleeping well last night. After what had happened yesterday, that wasn't too surprising. Chuck hadn't get much sleep himself. And he was convinced the reason for Neil's sickness today also lay in what had happened yesterday. Reliving whatever horrors Neil had experienced in that cottage had to have some psychological effect.

Again he thought about what he could do to help his son and again he didn't come to a solution. Neil had refused to talk about it and before he didn't hear it coming from his son himself, Chuck refused to believe that Charlie had done something to Neil.

The ringing doorbell interrupted his thoughts. When he opened the door, he saw Kelly standing before him.

"Where is Neil? Is he all right? He wasn't in school today and after yesterday I got worried that ..."

"He's upstairs. He's not feeling so well today, so he went back to bed." Chuck interrupted Kelly and stepped back to let her in.

"Thanks." She said when she entered the house. Without another word she went directly upstairs to see after Neil.

XXXXXXX

Quietly Kelly stepped into Neil's room. She didn't want to wake him in case he was still sleeping. He was still asleep, but his head turned from one side to the other. It was clearly visible that he had a nightmare. Quickly Kelly walked over to him and gently woke him up. The scared look in Neil's eyes changed immediately when he saw Kelly sitting next to him.

"Hi." He said surprised and got up to a sitting position.

"Hi." Kelly replied, smiling warmly at him before she leant forwards to give him a kiss. "How are you feeling? Your Dad said you were sick."

"Maybe I ate something wrong." Neil shrugged.

"Did you eat at all?" Kelly asked with a raised eyebrow. Seeing Neil's guilty expression, she didn't need to wait for an answer. "Move over."

Smiling Neil made some space so she could lay down next to him. Having her near him had always helped him forgetting about his nightmares. They laid cuddled together for some time until Neil fell back asleep. Silently Kelly watched his regular breathing. She could only imagine how hard the last night must have been for him. She cursed his father for taking him back to that cottage. Didn't it ever occur to him that Neil might have had a good reason for never returning to that place again? Seeing the pale face of her fiancé before her, she got more and more angry. Finally it got too much and she quietly slipped out of bed. After she made sure that she hadn't woken Neil, she left his room and went to find his father.

XXXXXXX

"What were you thinking going there with him?" Kelly started yelling as soon as she found Chuck.

"What?" Surprised Chuck looked up.

"Why did you go to the cottage with him? He told you that he didn't want to go back there. More than once!" Kelly could feel the tears in her eyes and that made her even more furious. She didn't want to cry now, she wanted to scream at the man who had ignored his own son for so long and with that had done more damage than he could ever imagine.

"Neil agreed going there. And it's not like we had much of a choice. The weather ..." Chuck stopped. He couldn't keep defending himself. He had seen with his own eyes what bringing Neil back to the cottage had done. He had hoped that Neil might open up to him when they would be there, but instead he had made everything worse. "I tried talking to him. He's totally shutting me out. I can't reach him." He said helplessly.

"What did you expect? You ignored him for years, treated him like he was worth nothing and you always, always compared him with Mark. I know Neil wasn't the perfect kid, but he pulled himself together. And still – no matter what he did, it was never good enough for you. Do you want to know what your relationship with Neil will be like in four years from now? Non existent! You didn't even talk with each other if it wasn't related to the Sentients. He had to die for you to realize what he means to you ..." Her voice broke as the memory of Neil dying in her arms overwhelmed her. This time she couldn't stop the tears falling down her face.

"What do you mean, he died?" Chuck whispered.

Kelly hesitated a moment. She suddenly realized that Chuck had no idea why she had been send back. "Neil got sick and he died. It was some kind of virus ... No one knew how to help him. You weren't even there when he died, you were out chasing some Sentients. Granted, you tried to help him, find a cure, but you weren't there when he needed you the most. He asked for you right before he ..." She closed her eyes and forced herself to continue. "... before he died but you weren't there. You came too late, as always." Her voice suddenly got cold when she continued. "When you were standing at his grave, you were devastated. You begged the Seeker to sent you back, even if that had meant your death too. You would have done anything to get him back. I saw you breaking down over Neil's death. I know you love him, but for some reason you just can't show it to him. But if you keep pushing him away, you'll lose him. Not by death, but ... It's not too late yet. If you just try hard enough ..."

"I am trying. I wanted to talk with him about his problems. He's not letting me in." Chuck said helplessly.

"He still thinks you won't believe him. He told your wife and she called him a liar. Knowing you, you would have done the same thing. Charles Benson is this big hero for you and of course he would never do something bad. And Neil is just this kid who used to do nothing but trouble. Why would you believe him?" Kelly practically spat the last words at him.

"He told you what happened?" Chuck was too stunned to felt offended by her angry words.

"Yes. And no, I'm not telling you what he told me. I would never misuse the trust Neil has in me. But after all you saw last night, do you really still need me to tell you?" Kelly had talked to Neil last night on the phone after he had returned home. He had told her a little bit of what had happened, not the whole story, but she could imagine the rest easily.

Chuck stayed silent for a moment after that. Kelly had just spoken his own thoughts out loud. Did he really still need Neil to tell him what happened? Yes, Charlie was his best friend and in his – and in Paige's – eyes he had always been a hero. He would have put his life on stake if it came to Charlie's credibility. But all that had happened and Neil's behavior towards Charlie all those years, it all pointed to the same thing. And he still couldn't fully believe it. "You know nothing about Charlie Benson." He said defensively. "I owe him my life and he's the most honest man I have ever met."

"You might owe him your life, but you gave him Neil's." Kelly replied quietly. Suddenly she wished she had never come down to talk to him. He was the same stubborn man as always and maybe Neil really had to die first before this idiot realized how much his son means to him. Without saying another word, she left the room and went back to Neil.

XXXXXXX

When Kelly got back into Neil's room, she found him still asleep. Careful not to wake him up, she crawled back into the bed next to him. She watched him for a while and gently traced her finger along his jaw. She had missed him so much. After he had died, she had been desperate. She didn't know what she was supposed to do without him. They had already planned their whole life together. After their wedding they would have saved enough money to buy a house. And as soon as they both felt ready, they had wanted to start a family. She had dreamt of raising Neil's children from the moment she had fallen in love with him. When he had died, her whole future had crashed down on her. But now she had him back and she would make sure that nothing happened to him again.

XXXXXXX

Devastated Chuck sat in the living room. It had been a few hours since his heated discussion with Kelly and neither she nor Neil had come back down. He thought about what he should do now. He had tried to talk to Neil, but he had shut him out. And Chuck couldn't blame him. Neil had suffered for so long and he was responsible for that. He had left him alone with Charlie, trusting his friend to take care of Neil. It was still hard for him to believe that Charlie could have hurt Neil, abused him even. He had thought about confronting his long time friend about that, but he couldn't get himself to do it. Not yet at least. Neil still hadn't confirmed his suspicions. Maybe it was all just a misunderstanding. Maybe ...

Shaking his head, Chuck stood up. Neil hadn't talked to him about what happened, but he had told Kurt. So he would talk to Kurt. He needed to know what really happened. Determined to find out the truth – even though he still wasn't sure if he was able to accept it when confronted with it – he took his car keys and left the house.

XXXXXXX

It didn't take him long to get to Kurt's apartment. He got out of the car and only hesitated a short moment before he rang the bell. He couldn't turn back now. Kurt knew the truth – and he needed to know it too.

"Chuck, what a pleasant surprise." Kurt greeted him mockingly when Chuck had reached his apartment. "Come on in."

"Kurt, I need to talk to you. It's about Neil." Chuck came directly to the point.

"What about him?" Kurt asked hesitantly. He already suspected what Chuck wanted.

"Yesterday, after we were in Wellington, something happened. We ... I decided it was best to stay the night in my father's cottage and ..."

"You what?" Kurt yelled at him. He couldn't believe Chuck had been so stupid. "How is Neil doing?"

"Not good. Last night he ... when he opened the door to his old room ... in the cottage, he ... I don't know, he freaked out .. He froze, paled, then he stormed out of the cottage. When I found him, he was crying and ... he looked so desperate. God Kurt, I just don't know what to do. I tried to talk to him, but he shut me out. This morning he got sick. He tried to eat some breakfast and couldn't keep it. He looked as if he had hardly slept at all. I'm afraid to lose him, but I just don't know what to do ..." His voice trailed off and he looked helplessly at Kurt.

"You do know what happened there, don't you?" Kurt asked quietly.

"I can imagine. From what you said and what happened last night ... It's just so hard to believe ..." Frustrated Chuck shook his head.

"You better start believing it, if you want to help Neil. Charles Benson sexually abused your son for seven years, every month. That's a fact you can't ignore any longer!"

"Seven years ..." Chuck choked out. It was even worse than he thought. He had believed it happened once, maybe twice. But all the time?

Before either of them could say anything else, the phone started ringing. Sighing Kurt picked up the receiver. Without listening to what Kurt spoke on the phone, Chuck was left deep in thought. He thought about all the times, Neil had tried to tell him he didn't want to go back to the cottage, that he didn't want to stay alone with Charlie, the many times he had chided him for being rude towards Charlie. Again and again he had given Neil the feeling that Charlie Benson was more important to him, more reliable. And when it got all too much for Neil and he had tried to take his life, he had still kept ignoring the fact that his son was having problems. It had been just too easy to believe it had been nothing but an accident, that Neil had been drunk and ... In the afterthought he couldn't believe that he had been so blind. And Paige ... She had always been closer to Neil but not even she had noticed anything. They were both so enthralled with Charlie being the big hero who had saved his live, that even when Neil told his mother what happened, she hadn't believed him. He wanted to be angry with her, but he couldn't push away the thought that, had Neil told him, would he have believed it? Even now that he knew, he still had trouble seeing Charlie as the bad guy.

"Chuck, we have to go." Kurt cut into his thoughts.

"What?" Confused Chuck looked up.

"We have to go. That was Kelly on the phone, something's wrong." The worried look on Kurt's face immediately alarmed Chuck.

"What happened?"

"I don't know, but I think she's close to freaking out over there. She said Neil had started a slight fever and that that's how it started the last time. Now, I don't think it's really something to worry about, I mean, I don't think he's going to die from this. This is probably just another after effect of what happened last night, but we better go there anyway."

"Let's go." Chuck suddenly wished he hadn't left. He had a bad feeling about all this.

XXXXXXX

When they reached the Taggart house, Kelly already awaited them anxiously.

"Kurt, you have to test his blood. If there is anything wrong ..."

"Calm down, Kelly. I'll test his blood, okay?" He showed her the small medical bag he brought with him. "How is he doing?" He spoke as quietly as possible, hoping to calm her down.

"He's still upstairs, he fell asleep again a few minutes ago. About an hour ago, I made him some soup and he started throwing up again after a few minutes. That's when I noticed the fever. Kurt, this is just like the last time. He couldn't keep any food, he felt weak and ... We thought it was the stomach flu at first, than it turned into a cold and before I knew what happened, he was dead." Kelly had started crying. She couldn't stop the tears running down her face. She was too afraid to lose him again.

"Kelly, he got sick ... will get ... four years from now. Why should he get the same virus already? It doesn't make any sense. He's still exhausted from last night, he hardly ate anything yesterday and he had trouble eating for weeks. He got soaked from rain last night, it makes sense that he would get a cold from that. Okay?" He put a hand on Kelly's shoulder in an attempt to give her some comfort. "I will test his blood, just to make sure, but you have to stay calm. This isn't helping him."

"I know, I'm sorry. I'm just so scared." Kelly choked out between sobs.

Chuck had stayed quiet the whole time. For the first time it registered on him what Kelly had told him a few hours ago. Neil had died. Or better he will die in the future. Some unknown virus would kill him. That's why she had traveled back in time. So even if he was able to help his son with this situation now, he might still lose him. Suddenly this all got too much for him and he felt like he couldn't breath.

"I need some air." He whispered and quickly went through the backdoor in the garden.

Worried Kurt watched him leaving, than he turned back to Kelly. "Why don't you stay down here. Try to get some rest. I'll see after Neil."

"Okay, thanks. But Kurt ..."

"Yes?"

"Don't tell him I cried." She looked on the floor, embarrassed about her outburst.

"Don't worry. I won't say a word." Kurt smiled at her encouragingly He wondered silently when it had happened that everyone had started to rely on him so much? He had never been a very reliable person and yet he had the feeling that everyone depended on him to solve this whole mess. And it wasn't a bad feeling, really.

XXXXXXX

When Kurt had stepped into Neil's room, he had still been asleep, but as soon as he checked for his temperature, Neil's eyes fluttered open and he looked at Kurt with a confused look in his eyes.

"Hey, you got a very worried girlfriend downstairs. I just thought I check on you to make sure everything is all right." Kurt smiled at Neil reassuringly. Inwardly he had started worrying the minute he had laid eyes on Neil. He really looked alarmingly pale, which was increased by the dark rings under his eyes. He did have a slight fever, but not so high that he had to worry about that. And than there was his weight loss – even though Neil had started eating more again the last few days, a stomach flu was the last thing he needed right now. If he was supposed to get better, he needed to keep the food he was eating.

"I'm fine. Kelly is worrying over nothing." Neil rolled his eyes.

"So, how are you feeling? And I want an honest answer." Kurt looked sternly at Neil.

Getting into a sitting position, Neil replied quietly. "I feel tired, like I haven't slept in days. I have a slight headache and the thought alone of getting something to eat makes me sick – so nothing new there." He tried to joke.

Kurt stayed quiet for a moment, thinking about what Neil had said. "Okay, I want to run a blood test – just to be sure. I'm not a medical doctor, but if there is anything wrong with you, I should see it. Okay?"

Neil only nodded slightly and held out his arm for Kurt to take the blood sample. The fact that Neil had agreed so easily on that test only increased Kurt's worries. He really must feel bad. Or maybe the fact that Kelly had told him he would die in the future from some unknown virus had scared him more than he was willing to show. While Kurt took the blood sample, he noticed the scratch on Neil's arm.

"Where did you get that from?"

"What?" When Neil saw where Kurt was looking at, he continued. "Oh that. That bitch we went to see yesterday tried to hold me on the arm – that's the result."

"Does it hurt? It looks pretty deep."

"No, not much. It's nothing really."

"It looks a bit inflamed. If it gets worse, let me know." When Kurt had the blood sample, he packed everything back into the bag. "Okay, I'll run that test than. If you feel up to it, maybe you should get downstairs. It surely would calm down Kelly." Kurt said smiling.

"Sure." Neil nodded. He was actually eager to get out of bed finally. But as soon as he got up, a wave of dizziness hit him and he stumbled to the side. Kurt was able to grab him by his arm, before he hit the floor. Breathing heavily he sat back on the bed and laid down immediately.

"Feel better?" Lee asked after a few moments. If possible, Neil looked even paler than before. Something was clearly wrong with him and Kurt was starting to worry if this really was all because of psychological stress. When Neil nodded slightly, Kurt continued. "You should better stay in bed. I send Kelly up to you. I call you later, okay?"

"Okay." Neil replied quietly. He had already pulled his legs up onto the bed again and had curled together, eyes closed.

Kurt glanced one last worried look at him before he stepped out of the room.

Tbc


	9. Chapter 9

Reluctantly Kelly had left Neil's side late at night and had returned home. Her parents still thought of her as a 17 year old teenager and probably wouldn't have liked the idea of their daughter spending the night with her boyfriend. But as she lay in her bed at night, she couldn't get any rest. Again and again she thought about Neil. His fever had slightly risen before she left. Of course she knew it was ridiculous to assume that he had the same virus as in the future, but she couldn't shake the cold grip around her heart and the memory of Neil slowly dying in that hospital kept returning to her mind.

XXXXXXX

It was already late at night and Chuck decided it was time to go to bed. This day – as the day before – had been very exhausting and he was looking forward to a good night sleep. At least he hoped he would get any sleep. He kept thinking about Neil and what he should do to help him. Before he went to his bedroom, he checked one last time on his son. Kelly had told him the fever had risen slightly and he wanted to make sure that it hadn't gotten any worse.

Careful not to wake him up, Chuck held his hand on Neil's forehead. He was shocked at the heat radiating from his son. The fever had risen even more. Quickly he turned on the lamp standing next to Neil's bed. He looked even paler, his skin was almost as white as his sheets, he was sweating and his head tossed slightly from one side to the other.

"Neil?" He gently shook his son's shoulder but Neil didn't wake up. "Neil?" He said louder again. A fear suddenly hold a grip of his heard as he couldn't get his son to wake up. He quickly reached for the phone and dialed Kurt's number.

He had to wait a long while before Kurt answered the phone. "This better be urgent." A sleepy voice muttered in his ear.

"Neil's fever has risen and I can't get him to wake up." Chuck explained quickly, the fear evident in his voice.

"I'm on my way." Kurt said, suddenly alerted and wide awake. He silently cursed himself for not checking Neil's blood samples right away. He had planned to do that first thing in the morning. He hoped he wouldn't regret that decision later. He quickly put on some clothes and left his apartment.

At the same time Chuck sat anxiously next to Neil's bed. He had gotten a wet cloth and had put it on his son's forehead in an attempt to get the fever down. He got more and more worried every passing minute. From time to time Neil mumbled something, but he could never understand the words.

About 20 minutes later Kurt finally arrived. "How is he?" He asked slightly out of breath as he had ran the few meters from his car up to Neil's room.

"His fever is over 40 degrees by now. And he still hasn't woken up." Chuck explained desperately. "I tried to get the fever down, but it's not working."

Kurt only threw one look at Neil and he knew that there wasn't much he could do. "We better get him into hospital."

Chuck didn't waste any time by responding and called 911. He cursed himself for not doing that before. He had seen with his own eyes in how bad a condition his son was. It had been stupid to wait for Kurt to arrive.

Ten minutes later the ambulance arrived and Neil was rushed into hospital.

XXXXXXX

Two hours later Chuck sat next to his son in the hospital room. An oxygen mask was placed over his face and an IV had been put in his arm. The doctor had given him a sedative, so now he lay still on his bed. He had also been given some medication against the fever and Chuck was now waiting desperately for any sign that it would go down. He held his son's hand tightly in his and squeezed it gently to let Neil know that he wasn't alone. He couldn't understand how his condition could have worsened so rapidly. Just this morning, he had been up and had talked to him. Now he was lying in a hospital bed.

At the same time Kurt was running the test on Neil's blood. It was also being tested in the hospital, but Kurt couldn't just sit around doing nothing and maybe he could find something that was overlooked in the hospital lab. Anxiously he stared through his microscope and really – there were slight traces of a virus. He hadn't seen anything like this before, but he wasn't a medical doctor. He searched some medical books he kept in his apartment for research. When he couldn't find anything there that resembled the virus he found in Neil's blood, he searched through the internet, again without a positive result. After a few hours he gave up. He had tried everything in his power to identify this virus; he hoped the hospital lab had more luck. He suddenly thought of Kelly's words and her fear that this might be the virus that had killed Neil in the future. He had waved her fears away and had told her it was impossible that Neil had the same virus already. Now he wasn't so sure anymore.

Finally he decided that it was time to let Kelly know what had happened. It was already morning and he was fairly certain that she would skip school and go right to the Taggert house to see after Neil. He could spare her that walk.

He had already picked up the phone to call Kelly, when he decided that these news were better delivered in person. He would wait for her near her house and tell her what happened. Then he could drive her to the hospital right away. And this way he could check after Neil for himself.

XXXXXXX

Kurt could see Kelly walking in his direction. He still wasn't quite sure how he was supposed to tell her without worrying her too much. But when Kelly saw him waiting for her, he didn't have to say anything. She could read in his face that something had happened. And if he was waiting for her, it had to be Neil.

"Where is he?" She whispered, afraid of the answer.

"He was admitted to the hospital last night. The fever had risen and we couldn't wake him up." It broke his heart as he saw the affect his words had on Kelly. All color had drained from her face, her shoulders sagged down and she had a desperate look on her face.

"Oh god, Kurt, what if ..."

"I found traces of a virus in his blood. I don't know what kind of virus it is ..." He couldn't continue speaking as he saw the tears rolling down Kelly's face. Without another word he pulled his arms around her and gave her a long hug. "I'm not letting him die, Kelly. I do whatever I can. I'll find a cure and ..."

"I heard that all before." She said between sobs. She didn't have to say more. Kurt knew that she had seen him fail once before trying to safe Neil's life. And he couldn't promise her that he would be more successful this time.

They stayed close together for a while until Kelly had calmed down and than they drove to the hospital. Neither of them spoke another word until they reached their destination.

XXXXXXX

As soon as Kelly stepped into the room, she hurried over to Neil's side and took his hand. Gently she stroked his forehead and traced her fingers along his cheek and jaw. She held onto him dearly as if she was afraid that he would slip away from her if she let him loose.

Quietly Kurt pulled a chair for her to sit down. Without actually realizing what she was doing, Kelly sat down, never letting go of Neil's hand. Together all three sat in silence, waiting for any sign that Neil's condition was improving.

XXXXXXX

Hours later Kelly noticed how Neil began to stir. She squeezed his hand to let him know he wasn't alone. Then she took a wet cloth from a basin of water standing on a table next to Neil's bed and gently ran it across his forehead. When she pulled it away, she could see his eyes were open.

"Hey." She said, a tear escaping her eye.

"You're cyring?" Neil whispered. His voice was so weak, it was hardly audible, but still it woke Chuck from his doze and he quickly leaned closer to his son.

"Neil, you're awake." He exclaimed with joy and squeezed his son's hand.

Neil was too tired to turn his head to his father's direction. He simply returned the squeeze and kept looking at Kelly.

"I'm just so happy to see you awake." She responded to his earlier question. "You gave us quite a scare."

"What ..." His voice broke and he took some deep breaths. Even these few words were too much exertion for him.

"Don't try to talk, son. You need your rest."

"You're very sick, Neil. You're father is right, you need all your strength to get better." Kelly forced herself to smile at him.

Neil tried to comprehend what they were telling him, but his mind was so fuzzy that is was all just too confusing. Even thinking about it made him more tired, so he closed his eyes again and let the darkness surround him again. The last thing he heard was Kelly's voice, asking him not to give up and keep fighting.

Tbc

A.N.: Thank you IritIlan for your reviews, I'm always happy to read them :) I hope you like this chapter too. Thanks to everyone for reading and please review :)


	10. Chapter 10

For the hundredth time Kurt stared into his microscope. He still hadn't found a serum against this virus nor had he been able to identify it. After his short visit in the hospital, he couldn't stay at Neil's side. Sitting around doing nothing wasn't going to help him, so Kurt had decided to return to his apartment, had collected the samples and had driven to the university's lab. For the past two days he had tried to come up with something, but he had found nothing. He was so deep in thought, that he didn't hear his cell phone ringing at first.

"Mendell." He barked into the phone. Whoever dared to disturb him, better had a good reason for it.

"What a nice welcome. I missed you too." Angela Perry said smiling.

"Angela?" Kurt exclaimed surprised. He was utterly confused. How could she call him on his cell phone? She was still on ISS.

"I should have known you forgot. Always the confused scientist. I'm standing in front for your apartment, but no one is letting me in. Please don't tell me you have a woman with you in there?" She said joking.

"You're back?" Kurt was still stunned.

"No. I just beamed myself to Houston for a few hours. Of course I'm back, you moron."

"I'm so glad to hear your voice." Kurt said, the relief evident in his voice.

"Are you all right?" Angela asked, suddenly worried.

"Could you come to the university lab? I'll explain everything when you're here."

"Okay." Angela wondered what could have happened that Kurt didn't want to tell her over the phone. "I'm on my way."

XXXXXXX

Half an hour later Angela stepped into the lab. Before announcing her presence, she took the opportunity and watched Kurt for a few minutes. He was so engrossed in his work that he didn't notice her standing in the door frame.

Angela had always enjoyed watching him work. For all the character flaws he had, as a scientist he was brilliant. She wondered what he was working on. The way he stared in his microscope and the hasty notes he scribbled on some papers every now and then made it look like it was something important.

"So here I am. Care to let me know what's going on?" She said smiling, finally letting him know she had arrived. Her smile faded quickly when she saw the despair in Kurt's eyes as he looked at her. "What happened?" She asked worried.

Kurt took some deep breaths, then he quickly walked over to her and pulled her into a tight embrace. Surprised Angela returned the hug and they stayed like this for a few moments.

"I'm so glad you're here." Kurt mumbled.

When he finally let go of her, Angela looked at him expectantly. "Kurt, what is going on?"

"Neil is sick. Really sick. I don't know what to do. It's some kind of virus, but I can't identify it. I tried for days to come up with a serum, but nothing works." He looked at her helplessly.

"What are the symptoms?" Angela wanted to know.

"He has a high fever, almost 40 degrees. He's hardly conscious, he can't keep any food, he's even throwing up the little water he's able to drink the short times he's awake ... God Angela, so much has happened the past few weeks and now ..."

"I know you can help him. If anyone can, it's you." Angela tried to comfort him.

"That's just the thing. I already failed before."

"What?" Angela looked at him confused.

"Do you remember Kelly Simson? Neil brought her to a few NASA parties before the Odyssey 5 mission."

Angela thought about that for a moment. "I remember he was there with someone, but I don't remember the name. Why?"

"She traveled back in time, just like we did."

"What? How is that possible?"

"The seeker send her back, four years from now. She's here to save Neil. He died from a virus – this virus – in the future. But somehow he got infected with it already. I couldn't help him then, why should this time be any different?" He asked devastated.

"Are you sure it's the same virus?"

"Kelly is convinced of it. The symptoms are the same."

"Okay." Angela tried to comprehend all this. There had to be a way to safe Neil. "Did he do anything different than the last time? I mean than ... oh you know what I mean." This whole time talk was still confusing for her.

"We don't know. Kelly wasn't together with Neil at this time, they weren't even friends. And even when they got together, he never told her much about what we were doing."

"Where could he got infected?"

"I don't know. He had trouble eating for weeks, but I don't think it had anything to do with the virus. Yesterday morning he started feeling sick. Headache, dizziness, he couldn't keep anything he ate. In the evening I took some blood samples. I wasn't worried, I just wanted to calm Kelly and had planned to test them in the morning. But at night Chuck called me. Neil had developed a high fever and wasn't waking up. And it only got worse from there." Exhausted Kurt sagged down on the nearest chair. He didn't know what to do anymore.

"Sounds like this virus is working pretty fast. He couldn't have gotten it very long, right? What did he do the day before he got sick?"

Surprised Kurt looked at her. He hadn't even thought about that. He thought back to all the things that had happened to Neil that day. His return to the cottage, the visit in Wellington ... "The scratch!" He suddenly exclaimed loudly.

"What?" Angela looked at him confused.

"Angela, you're the best." Kurt laughed and gave her a long kiss. Then he quickly turned back to his desk to collect some papers.

"Okay, I'm glad I could help." Angela chuckled at the suddenly returned spirit in Kurt's behavior. "What scratch?"

"Neil got attacked by a woman, she could be a sentient. I didn't even think about it anymore. It looked slightly infected when I took the blood test, but I didn't worry much about it. If she's a sentient or the sentients did something to her, than she could be the source for the virus. Maybe Neil never went to Wellington the first time or just never got the scratch and that's why he's already infected now. Who knows what Kelly's time travel has changed? There is no way for us to know because her future is already different from the one we know."

Angela wasn't quite sure if she understood everything that Kurt was telling her, but it sounded like good news.

"Come on!" Kurt called to Angela as he hurried out of the lab.

"Where are we going?" She asked, following him out.

"We make a quick stop in Neil's room, get the right address and then we drive to Wellington." Kurt explained quickly.

"Wellington?"

"Yes, that's where Neil met that woman. If she is the reason for his disease, than with her help we might be able to help him."

"You think she's willing to help us?" Angela asked doubtfully.

"Doesn't matter. She either helps us voluntarily or not. All I need is a blood sample."

About fifteen minutes later they arrived at the Taggert house. Kurt went upstairs right away. He didn't want to waste any time and searched frantically for the list with the addresses on it. Angela had stayed downstairs, waiting for Kurt to come down again. She thought about what he had told her and was so deep in thought, that she didn't notice someone coming close to her.

"What are you doing here?" She heard a male voice from behind. Startled Angela turned around and saw Mark Taggert, Chuck's oldest son, standing before her.

"Mark." She called out surprised. "You're back."

"I'm just here to get some things. I ask you again: What are you doing here? Neither my father nor my brother are at home at the moment!"

"I got it." Kurt called from upstairs. Before Angela could stop him, he came running down the stairs.

"You got what? What do you want here?" Mark asked again. Even though he didn't live in this house anymore, this was still his home and he would defend it against anybody.

"Mark ..." Kurt looked as surprised as Angela had been, but he pulled himself together quickly. "It's good you're here. Your father needs you right now."

"I don't care what my father needs. I'm done with him." Mark hissed at him.

"Chuck really knows how to build a loving relationship with his children." Kurt said sarcastically. "Look Mark, I know your relationship with your father is a bit strained right now ..."

"Strained? He killed my mother!" Mark yelled.

"Your mother's death wasn't his fault, believe me. He tried to safe her, but he came too late. Her death hit him pretty hard and now ..."

"I don't care what you have to say. I want my father to suffer for what he did to her ..."

Angela knew it was useless to convince Mark to forgive his father right now. But she thought it was important that he knew about Neil. They were brothers and shouldn't they be able to find a cure against Neil's disease, than Mark deserved a chance to say goodbye. "Your father is already suffering. Mark, Neil is sick."

Stunned Mark looked at her. He had been concentrating so hard on hating his father that he hadn't wasted a single thought on his little brother. "How sick?"

"Very sick. He's in a hospital right now and his condition is critical. He ..." Her voice broke. She couldn't bring herself to say the words.

"He might die." Kurt quietly finished for her.

"What?" Mark choked out. He couldn't believe what he was hearing. He felt like he someone had just punched him in the stomach.

"He's in Houston General, Intensive Care, Room 206. You might want to hurry going there, because frankly, I'm not sure how much time he has left." Kurt waited a moment for the information to sink in, than he turned to Angela. "We have to go."

"Okay." Hesitantly Angela looked at Mark again. She felt she should say something, but she couldn't come up with the right words. Eventually she followed Kurt outside.

XXXXXXX

Kelly was close to losing all hope. She could see that Neil was fading away. The few times he had regained consciousness, he had hardly recognized anyone nor did he knew where he was or what was happening to him. He was clearly in so much pain that she almost hoped that it would be over soon. She had watched him die once before and she knew that for him death would only be a relief.

Deep down Neil was still fighting to stay alive. He had promised Kelly that he wouldn't give up and even though he didn't know what was happening to him, he knew that he couldn't stop fighting. But it got harder with every passing hour as the desire to just drift away in the darkness got bigger and bigger.

Kelly and Chuck had stopped talking hours ago. There was nothing more to say. They just sat quietly next to Neil's bed, one on each side, holding his hand to give him some of their strength, even though they both hadn't much strength left themselves.

When Neil winced at some unseen pain, Kelly squeezed his hand more tightly to let him know she was still there. She knew it wasn't enough and there was only one thing she could do for him. He was only still alive because she had made him promised not to give up. And Neil had always held his promises. Now it was up to her to release him from this one.

"It's okay, Neil. You can let go. You fought long enough." She could feel the tears escaping her eyes but she didn't care. She had to stay strong for him. "It's time to let go."

"What are you saying?" Chuck yelled at her. He couldn't believe she was telling his son to give up. He had to fight this if he wanted to live. If he wanted to live ... But he didn't allow himself to continue this thought.

"He's suffering, don't you see that? He's in so much pain and he's only hanging on because I told him to fight. But it won't help. It only puts him in even more pain. I can't do that to him again." Kelly cried. The tears kept flowing and she didn't know how to stop them. She didn't think she could. Seeing Neil dying again was just too much. She felt like breaking down and there was no one to help her get through this.

"You will not tell my son to give up, you hear me? He will fight this. He is stronger than this virus." Chuck gritted his teeth. He swore to himself that he would threw her out of this room should she ever speak to his son again like this. He didn't care how much Neil loved her, he wouldn't let her make him give up.

"He is not ..." Kelly choked, but she couldn't continue. Crying she sat next to Neil's bed, holding his hand, praying for some miracle that he would wake up again.

XXXXXXX

Silently Mark stood in front of Neil's room. Through a window he could look inside. He saw his father sitting on his brother's bedside, holding his hand. He looked like he had aged years. A young woman he had never seen before sat on the other side, also holding Neil's hand. Mark finally forced himself to look at his younger brother. He lay motionless on the bed, hooked to several monitors, an IV in his arm and an oxygen mask covering his face. He was pale as a ghost and looked more dead than alive.

Mark closed his eyes for a moment and took some deep breaths. He knew he had to go in there. He couldn't turn away now, not after seeing his little brother like this. Whatever had happened between himself and his father, it wasn't Neil's fault. He knew he had blamed his brother too for his mother's death at first, he had screamed it in his face even, but he was convinced now that Neil had been pulled into whatever his father had been doing only by his father. He was only 17 and even though he had always pushed his father away, Mark knew that deep down Neil had only wanted his attention. Mark felt the same way, that's why he had joined the NASA. And that's why he had spend endless nights with his father outside the house or the old cottage looking at the stars. He never cared much for astronomy, but seeing the pride in his father's eyes when he had learned something new or had found a star system by himself, had meant the world to him. Neil must have felt the same way. He probably enjoyed spending time with their father and didn't care what they were doing. He still didn't know what Chuck had pulled Neil into, but he knew now that he wasn't angry with Neil. And he had to let his brother know that.

Taking another deep breath, Mark finally stepped inside the room and walked slowly to the bed.

When Chuck looked up, he stared surprised at his oldest son. "Mark ..."

"I'm not here for you, Dad. I'm hear to see Neil." Mark said coldly. Then he turned to the young woman. "Hi, I'm Mark Taggert, Neil's brother."

"Hi ..." She said quietly and took his offered hand. "Kelly Simson." She looked almost as bad as Neil. Her face was pale and strains of tears were still visible. Her eyes were red as if she had cried all day and he could still see tears brimming in her eyes.

Turning his attention from her, Mark looked at his brother. From that close he looked even worse.

Kelly wanted to make space, so that Mark could take his brother's hand, but she couldn't bring herself to let loose. She was afraid he would slip away if she left his side. Chuck saw the conflict in her eyes and pulled himself together. He felt the same as she did, but he knew this was important for Mark. Slowly he let go of Neil's hand and got up. "I'll get us some coffee. You can take my place." He pointed at the now empty chair. When he walked passed his oldest son, he put a hand on his shoulder. He could feel that Mark tensed up at that contact, but he didn't pull away. Chuck patted him shortly. "It's good to see you again, Mark." He whispered before he went to leave the room.

When his father had left, Mark sat next to Neil and took his hand. "Hey little brother. I heard you found a new way to skip school." His voice broke, he didn't really feel like joking right now. "You hang in there, okay? Just keep fighting, you've always been good at that." He stopped when he noticed that Kelly had started crying again. "I'm sorry ..." He said helplessly.

"No, it's okay. It's just ..." She looked at him devastated. "I just don't know how much more I can take of this ..."

Without hesitation Mark reached over and took her hand in his. "You have to be strong for him. We all have to ... Then he'll make it through it. I know that. " He spoke with so much determination, that Kelly was almost willing to believe him. There was just this little voice in her head, telling her she had been strong the first time and it had been for nothing.

Nodding his understanding, Mark was about to say something when he felt a twitch in his hand. "He's waking up." He exclaimed, squeezing Neil's hand tighter and watching his face, searching intently for any sign that his brother was waking up. But then the twitch spread from the hand he held throughout his brother's body. Soon Neil's body involuntarily thrashed on the bed and the monitors began screaming. Within seconds several nurses and doctors came running into the room, pushing both Mark and Kelly to the side.

"What's happening?" Kelly cried out. Mark took her hand and squeezed it tightly, he wasn't sure if it was for her comfort or his own. Silently they watched how the doctors and nurses tried to safe Neil's life.

XXXXXXX

When Chuck saw the doctors and nurses running into his son's room, he let the coffee fell down on the floor and started running up the corridor. He froze in his tracks when he saw what was happening in the room. One of the doctors had just injected some medicine in Neil's IV and after a few moments the tremors faded. Neil lay again motionless on his bed and the monitors had ceased screaming. But just when Chuck thought that the worst was over, the monitors started screaming again, this time due to a flat line that moments before had danced across the screen. Horrified Chuck watched the doctor applying paddles to his son's chest, trying to get his heard beating again. But nothing seemed to be working.

Terrified Kelly watched the doctors working on Neil. She blamed herself. She had told him that it was okay to give up, to stop fighting. And he had just done that and now he would die. "Oh god, please no. Don't take him, Please, I didn't mean it." She whispered between sobs. "Please ..."

Mark had heard Kelly's whispers. He could only hope that someone up there was listening to her prayers. But when the doctor put the paddles away and looked at them sadly, he knew that no one had listened. His brother was dead.

Tbc

**A.N.: Thanks for your reviews. s.l.smith, thanks for the compliment :-) And I agree with you, I was disappointed when the show was cancelled too, but I'm hoping more people are going to write some fanfiction here, than we can at least read some new stories. I hope you like this chapter. Thank your for reading and please keep reviewing :-)**


	11. Chapter 11

„No!" Kelly cried out and ran over to Neil. She threw her arms around him, holding him close to her. "Don't ... don't leave me. I didn't mean it. Please don't leave me. You have to come back, please, come back. I didn't mean it ..."

Mark stood shocked, not able to move. When he finally looked over to his father, who still stood near the door, he saw that he looked like he would break down any second. All color had drained from his face and he stared horrified at the still body of his son.

"Dad ..." Mark choked out. Then he quickly went over to him. He had wanted to see his father suffer, but now that he did, it was too much. And the price for it was definitely too high. Right now he needed his father as much as he needed him and all the fights from the past were forgotten. When he had reached him, he pulled him into a tight hug. Chuck didn't even realize his oldest son held him. All he could do was stare at his dead son, Kelly's sobs ringing in his ear.

The doctor was just about to declare the time of death, when the heart monitor suddenly started beeping again. The line that was still flat a second ago, now showed a weak, but regular heart beating. Quickly he walked over and gently, but determinedly pushed Kelly away from the bed.

"No ..." She said weakly, but she had no strength left to fight the arms pulling her away. She hadn't even noticed the beeping heart monitor yet.

"I don't believe this." The Doctor mumbled. He quickly put his patient on a respirator as he still wasn't breathing on his own. Then he injected another dosage of medication in the IV. Hopefully this time it would help. And really – Neil's heart kept beating.

When the Doctor had started working on Neil again, Mark and Chuck finally realized that Neil wasn't dead yet.

"Dad ..." Mark looked at his father hopefully.

"I knew he was a fighter." Chuck whispered. Then he noticed Kelly standing stock still near the bed, staring at Neil. Her fists were clenched together and she was trembling all over. He looked back to Mark, who had followed his gaze and nodded, then Chuck walked over to her. He gently pulled an arm around her shoulder. When she slowly turned her head to him, he gave her a small smile.

"Looks like my son is listening to you." He referred to her pleas to Neil to come back. He really had. He had beat death once more and had returned to them. Hopefully he had the strength to keep fighting until they found a cure. "He's still fighting."

Kelly could only nod. She didn't think she was able to form any coherent words right now. When the doctor was done working on Neil, all three looked at him expectantly.

"He's on full life support now, but he's alive. Don't ask me how. I have never seen anything like this before. His condition is still critical but I have my best people working on an antidote." The doctor told them. "Just tell your son to keep up the fight."

With that said, the doctor left them alone. Quietly Kelly, Chuck and Mark took their places around Neil's bed again. He looked even more weak now with the respirator breathing for him, but they had all gained new hope that he might walk out of this hospital alive.

XXXXXXX

Hesitantly Kurt and Angela stood in front of Sheila Norris house. They had been determined to do anything necessary to get a blood sample from her. But now they weren't so sure anymore. What if she wasn't a sentient? They couldn't just walk in there and attack a person out of suspicion. Finally Kurt made a decision.

"She threw Chuck through half the room without much effort. Even if she's not a sentient, the sentients definitely changed her in some way. She's not a normal human anymore. Let's go!"

"Okay." Angela nodded hesitantly. She was still not quite convinced if this was the right thing to do. But she agreed with Kurt on one thing - they couldn't just stand by and let Neil die. Letting out a frustrated sigh, she followed him up the driveway.

Once they were in the house – they had taken Sheila by surprise and had pushed her in the house as soon as she had opened the door – Kurt pinned her on a chair, holding her strongly while Angela tied her up. They had acted fast and with the moment of surprise on their side, Sheila could do nothing to prevent it, despite her strength.

"Who are you? What do you want?" She demanded to know. The lack of fear in her voice convinced both Kurt and Angela that she wasn't a normal human.

"Don't worry. We just need a small blood sample from you." Kurt told her as he got out the things he needed from his bag. Then he bind up her arm and stuck her with the needle. He was actually surprised to see blood coming out of her veins. That meant she was human – he wondered what the sentients did to her. Was it connected to the virus?

"What are you going to do with it?" Sheila asked.

"Developing an antidote." Kurt told her shortly while packing up his things again.

When Sheila paled at hearing his words, he knew she knew about the virus.

"Anything you want to tell us?" He asked coldly.

Sheila stayed quiet. She just looked at him, her eyes full of hatred.

"What do you know about the virus?" Kurt asked again.

"You can't stop it. There will be more of us and you will all die!" She spat at them.

"So will you." Kurt told her coldly. Then he pulled out his gun and shot her in the head.

"Oh god, Kurt! Why did you do that?" Angela looked at him horrified.

"You heard her. She's the carrier of the virus. At least one of them. She would have infected more people with the time." Kurt put back the gun, trying to hide his trembling hands from Angela. He had killed sentients before, but Sheila Norris had at least partly been still human. "Let's go. We got what we came for."

Angela stared at the dead woman in front of her for a few seconds before she followed Kurt out. Neither of them spoke a word until they reached the university.

"I'll go to the hospital to check on Neil." Angela said quietly.

"Okay." Kurt muttered. He couldn't look her in the eyes. Even though he knew it had been the right thing to do, he felt awful about what he did. He didn't think he would ever forget the sight of that dead woman in front of him.

XXXXXXX

Anxiously Angela waited in front of Neil's room. The nurses wouldn't let her in because she was no relative. They hadn't even told her about his condition. Through a window she could see Chuck, Mark and Kelly sitting around Neil's bed. She remembered meeting Kelly on one of the NASA parties, shortly before the Odyssey 5 mission. It had been evident how much she and Neil had been in love at the time. She remembered thinking how lucky they both were. They had found the right one – Angela had been convinced the two would stay together forever ... until they died. Who would have known that death might separate them so early? It broke her heart to see them like this now. Kelly looked like she would break down any second and Neil ... Angela could hardly bear to see him hooked to all these machines, the respirator probably being the only thing keeping him alive.

She pushed away those dark thoughts when she saw Chuck looking up at her. Once he noticed her standing behind the window, he rose from his seat and walked out to meet her.

"Kurt told me. I'm so sorry, Chuck." She said as soon as Chuck had closed the door behind him. Then she gave him a small hug.

"Did he find something?" Chuck asked tired.

Angela didn't have to ask who he meant. "He's working on it. How is Neil doing?"

"He's fighting. His heart stopped a while ago. He's on full life support now." Tired he rubbed over his eyes. "I don't know how long he can keep up the fight."

"He's strong, Chuck."

"Yes, he is. I never knew how strong." Chuck replied quietly, remembering what his son had gone through as a child.

"Kurt will find the antidote." Angela said determinedly. It was the only thing she could think of that would give Chuck at least some comfort.

"Did he tell you about Kelly? About what happened to Neil in her future?"

"Yes, he did." Angela replied quietly. "But this time he won't fail. I think he's close to something. Don't lose hope, Chuck. Neil isn't dead yet. And tell him to keep fighting, okay?"

Angela looked so convinced that Kurt would be successful that Chuck almost believed her.

"I will. Are you going back to Kurt?"

"Yes. There's not much I can do though except get him new coffee ..."

"That is helping too." Chuck smiled at her. It was only a small smile and it never reached his eyes, but Angela was grateful for it nevertheless. She pulled him into a hug again.

"He's going to pull through this."

Chuck nodded slowly before he turned to go back into Neil's room. He had the door already half open, when he turned around again. "Angela." He called out.

Surprised she looked at him.

"Welcome back." He said smiling.

Thankfully Angela returned the smile. She wasn't sure when it had happened, but their little group had become like a family for her. During the three months she had been on ISS, she had missed them more than her real family.

After throwing a last glance through the window, Angela turned to go back to Kurt.

Tbc.

**A.N.: I'm really sorry it took me so long to update. Real life stopped me from posting earlier. Thanks for still reading this story and I hope you enjoyed this chapter. IritIlan, thanks again for your review :)**


	12. Chapter 12

Yawning Kelly rubbed over her eyes, trying to get fully awake. Her whole body felt stiff from sleeping on this not very comfortable hospital chair. The nurses had rolled an extra bed into the room, since neither of them had been willing to go home to get some rest. But Kelly didn't want to leave Neil's side. She needed to be close to him. The last time she had let go of him, he had nearly died. She was convinced that he was pulling some extra strength from her, just like she had more than once from him. They had gone through so much already – Neil even more than her – but no matter what life had thrown at them, together they had made it through everything. She had traveled back through time for him, he had even come back from the dead for her – if she stayed with him, he would come out of this alive. He had to.

XXXXXXX

Silently Chuck watched Kelly sitting next to Neil. Since he had nearly died, she had not once let go of his hand, not even in her sleep. He regretted the harsh words he had thrown at her when she had told Neil to let go. If he was honest with himself, he had thought the same – that it would be easier for Neil if he would die now instead in a day or two. The few times he had regained consciousness, his eyes had been filled with pain, his sleep had been often restless as nightmares were haunting him – Chuck had often wondered what he was dreaming about. The destruction of earth? Witnessing his mother's death? The hell he had send him through as a child? Maybe he had been dreaming about all of it – mixed together in one big, never ending nightmare.

Since his heart had stopped, Neil wasn't dreaming anymore, at least not visible to anyone watching him. He hadn't regained consciousness either. In a way, it was easier this way – not seeing the pain his son was in.

His thoughts went back to Kelly – his future daughter-in-law. God, how could his son had gotten married without his knowledge? He hadn't even know Neil had loved her that much. He hardly remembered her from the future. Paige had known though. He remembered now that she had told him once that Kelly was special. He hadn't listened. He had lost interest in Neil a long time ago. He hadn't been Mark. Why had he always made such a difference between his sons? Even when they were little. He had always preferred Mark. He had shown him the stars, thinking his oldest son would love them as much as he did – and he had left Neil with his supposedly best friend. And it all came back to that. Neil's behavior al these years, the drugs, the alcohol – everything he had always held against him only happened because he had left Neil alone with Charlie. He had ignored his pleas, his cries. When Paige had asked him if Charlie had ever acted weird around Neil or Mark, he had laughed about it. Charlie would never do anything to his children. And Paige had believed him. She had told Neil to stop lying and he had never talked about it again. And yet he had still tried to please his father later. After Mark had left, Neil had found the strength to pull himself together and had graduated as top student – a year early. Then he had rushed through college and had become the youngest astronaut in the history of NASA. All that to get his father to be proud of him. He remembered the pride and joy in Neil's eyes when he had told him he was going to join NASA. He had crushed that. He hadn't cared. Neil hadn't been Mark – the wrong son had followed into his footsteps. That was the message Chuck had given his son. No matter how hard Neil had tried, it had never been good enough. Until Neil had eventually stopped trying and had shut his father out of his life.

He swore to himself that he would do anything in his power to be a part of Neil's life again. If only he survived this. And maybe he could repair his relationship with Mark too.

XXXXXXX

Another few hours had passed and Neil's condition had gotten even worse. No one wanted to admit it, but they had all given up hope by now that Neil would ever wake up again, when suddenly the door to the hospital room flew open and Kurt stormed in, followed by a hectic nurse ordering him to leave this room immediately.

"I have it." Kurt said breathlessly, totally ignoring the nurse. He walked straight to the bed, pulling out a syringe. Then he looked questioningly at Chuck. "I have it."

Chuck didn't waste any time asking questions. They had nothing to lose, Neil was running out of time. This was either working or it was not. "Give it to him."

XXXXXXX

After another few hours Neil's vitals finally began to improve. His heart beat got stronger and blood tests showed that the poison was slowly getting out of his system. The next morning they were able to put him off the respirator and he was breathing on his own without problems. Now they only had to wait for him to wake up.

"It's really working." Kelly whispered, watching Neil's regular breathing.

Chuck couldn't respond anything to that. Yesterday he had thought his son would die and today he could actually hope again. Neil was getting better with every hour. The doctor had said that it would only be a matter of time until Neil would wake up. His body simply still needed the rest to fully heal from all the damage the poison had done.

He looked over to his oldest son. Mark hadn't said much since he got here. They hadn't talked about anything else bout Neil's current condition. He could see clearly that Mark was worried about his younger brother and that made him proud. His sons had never been really close – that had probably been his fault too. Neil had been jealous of Mark being his father's favorite son and Mark ... he had seen long before his parents how smart Neil really was and that had been his reason for jealousy. He had probably been afraid that if his parents would ever notice that they would start to prefer Neil. Why hadn't he seen any of this before? Why did he almost have to lose all his family to see what he had done to his sons?

A twitch in his hand pushed all those thoughts out of his mind. Neil had squeezed his hand. Hopefully he returned the squeeze and looked at Neil's face. He could see that Neil was trying to wake up. He opened his mouth to say something to his son, but Kelly was faster.

She had also noticed Neil's struggle to finally wake up and she held onto his hand even tighter. "Wake up, Neil. Please ... it's time to wake up."

When Neil finally did open his eyes, all he could see was the beautiful face of his wife. "Kelly ..." He whispered weakly, almost inaudible.

Ignoring the tears that were falling from her eyes, Kelly smiled at him. "Hey ... it's good to have you back."

Neil mustered a small smile on his face and he tried to squeeze her hand. He wasn't sure if she'd notice – he had never felt so weak in his life. He could feel that there was someone else holding his other hand – but he had no strength left to turn his head and see who it was. And he didn't want to take his eyes from Kelly. He wanted to look at her as long as he could before sleep would take him again. And the way he felt right now, that wasn't very long.

Neil only managed to stay awake for a short time before he fell asleep again. But even these few minutes meant everything to the three people sitting next to him.

Chuck felt too overwhelmed to say anything, but Mark found the words everyone was thinking right now. "Only he ... only Neil would get through something like this." There were tears brimming in his eyes but he didn't care. His little brother had beat death. Surely it was okay to share a few tears over that.

"We need to tell the others. Especially Kurt." Chuck said after a while. "And we all need to take some rest. We won't be any good to him half asleep when he wakes up the next time."

"Why don't you two go first, I ... I'd like to stay with him for a while longer." Kelly said, not taking her eyes of Neil.

Chuck nodded slowly. He figured it was her right so spend some time alone with Neil. He would be her husband sometime in the future. He would be in good hands with her.

"Call me if he wakes up again." He told her, gently squeezing her hand.

"I will." Smiling she returned the squeeze. It was the first time that she felt grateful towards Chuck Taggert. She didn't think she could have gone through all this alone. Having him and Mark next to her all this time had been very helpful.

"You ... you have any place to stay?" Chuck carefully asked his oldest son.

"Uh no, I hadn't had the time yet. I'll just check into some motel and get some sleep. I could really use it." He chuckled. Neither of them had been able to get much sleep despite the bed the nurses had given them.

"Your old room is still free, if you want it."

"I don't know, Dad ..." Mark said hesitantly. He wasn't sure if he was ready to get back to his home. But then he looked at Neil. He had almost lost his brother. His mother was already dead. If Neil had died, his father would have been everything he had left. For the first time he realized that he wasn't feeling any anger anymore towards his father. He still didn't understand what had happened to his mother. But he was finally ready to listen. Not today ... but maybe later his father could explain to him what had really happened that day.

He took a deep breath before he looked at his father again. "Why not. I kinda miss my own bed."

"Okay, let's go." Smiling Chuck nodded at Mark. He took a last glance at his youngest son who now appeared to sleep peacefully. He had gotten a second chance to get his family back. He wouldn't screw it up this time.

Tbc

**A.N.: I can only apologize that it took me so long to update again. Real life just always comes in between. I really appreciate that you keep reading this despite the long waits between chapters. Thanks a lot. I hope you enjoyed this chapter. **


	13. Chapter 13

Neither Mark nor Chuck had spoken much on their drive home. They weren't ready yet to approach any of the subjects that stood between them and they had already said all that was to say about Neil's condition. In silence they walked up the driveway to their house.

"Chuck." A familiar voice stopped them.

Chuck froze, then he slowly turned around.

"Charlie." Mark greeted their visitor. "Hi, how are you?"

"That's what I came to ask you. I heard that Neil was in hospital ..." Charlie Benson looked from Mark to his long time friend who did nothing but stare at him. "I hope it's nothing serious."

"He's already recovering. It looks good." Mark assured him when Chuck still hadn't said anything.

"That's good to hear. I was ..."

"You have no right to ask about my son's condition!" Chuck interrupted him coldly.

"Dad ..." Mark looked at his father surprised.

"How dare you come here and ask for him after what you've done?"

"What? Chuck, I don't know what you're talking about. I ..."

"Dad, what's going on here?" Mark asked, grabbing his father's arm. He looked like he wanted to kill someone.

Chuck looked at his old friend for a long time, not even aware of his son holding his arm. He could see the surprise in Charlie's eyes ... and the hidden guilt.

"It's all true, isn't it?" He asked quietly.

"Chuck, I don't know what Neil told you, but that boy always had a vivid imagination ..."

"Don't you dare call him a liar!" Chuck yelled. Then something snapped inside of him. He shook his arm free of Mark's grasp and lunged at Charlie, throwing him to the ground. Again and again he punched him. Chuck was so much in rage, he didn't even realize what he was doing anymore. With every punch he saw Neil standing in their cottage, looking terrified at his old bedroom. He saw his five year old son begging him not to leave him alone, Neil leaning on the tree, soaked from the rain, asking him to go home. He saw his fifteen year old son lying in their bathroom in his own blood ...

"Dad!" Mark had been too shocked at first to stop his father, but now he tried to get him away from Charlie. "Dad, stop!"

He finally managed to drag his father away from Charlie, who quickly crawled backwards, away from Chuck. When he thought it was safe, he slowly got up from the ground, careful to keep a safe distance between him and his friend. Chuck didn't fight his son's attempt to keep him away from Charlie anymore, but Mark didn't dare to let go of him as he still looked furious.

"Chuck, I ..." Charlie began but Chuck interrupted him immediately.

"Shut up!" He yelled, breathing heavily. "You better leave right now or I swear I'll kill you."

Terrified Charlie looked at him. He opened his mouth to say something, but then changed his mind. He slowly turned around and left.

After watching his former friend leave, Chuck shook off his son again and without saying anything he walked into the house. After a moment Mark followed him.

XXXXXXX

"So, Neil finally told you, didn't he?" Mark asked quietly.

He and his father had both been sitting in the living room for a while in silence. Chuck had gotten a beer to calm down again. He had been staring at the bottle in his hands for almost half an hour without taking a gulp. Now he looked at his son in disbelief.

"You knew?"

"Yeah ... well, I figured it out eventually ..." He let out a deep breath. "When I was old enough to understand what was really happening, it was already too late. Neil had stopped coming to the cottage with us, so ... I know I should have said something. A few years ago I urged him to tell you himself. He said he had already told mom and that she didn't believe him. ...I'm sorry."

"You don't have to apologize, Mark. None of this is your fault." Chuck sighed. "You were just a kid yourself. Your mother and I .. we should have paid better attention." Chuck stared at the bottle in his hands again. He had done so many mistakes in his life – he just hoped it wasn't too late to fix them all.

"I can't believe he told you. I mean ... he had kept this to himself for so long .." Mark said quietly.

"He didn't tell me. He confided in someone else. I ... I only found out by accident. At first I didn't want to believe it was true and than I made it all just worse."

They stayed silent for a while, both lost in thoughts. Eventually Chuck looked up at his son again.

"Mark, I don't want you to leave again. I mean, if you want to, I'd really like you to stay. At least for a while. The way things have been between us ... I don't want us not talking for the rest of our lives."

"Dad ..." Mark wanted to tell him that he couldn't stay, the had was needed somewhere else. But the truth was, he had nowhere to go. Since he'd left his home, he had stayed in different motels, trying to find a job and decide what to do with his life. He hadn't been very lucky though and he would run out of money soon. And he finally wanted to know the truth about what happened to his mother. He would never find out if he kept running away. Sighing he answered his father. "I guess I could stay a while."

XXXXXXX

The next morning Mark returned to the hospital. His father had said he would come there later. He had gotten one of his mysterious phone calls and had said he would meet some friends. Mark wondered if this doctor who had given Neil the antidote was one of those "friends".

When he stepped into Neil's room, he found his brother awake.

"Hey." He greeted both Neil and Kelly. "Good to see you awake."

"Hi." Neil looked surprised at his older brother. "When did you come back?"

"Your brother has been here every minute for the last few days. He hasn't left your side until you were better." Kelly told him smiling.

"Uh well, I just needed a place to sleep, so ..." Mark waved it off with a big grin on his face. Neil still looked pale and his voice sounded weak, but it felt good to see him awake again and be able to talk to him. "How are you feeling?"

"Like I just ran a marathon or something. Tired, weak, the meds are making my head all fuzzy ..." Neil complained.

"As long as they're helping." Mark said smiling.

"They are. Dr. Stevenson said he's expecting a full recovery." Kelly replied.

"That's great." Mark said relieved.

"So, where have you been all this time?" Neil wanted to know. He would never admit it, but he had really missed his big brother.

"Here and there, trying to get out of the mess I made of my life." Mark shrugged. He didn't feel comfortable talking about his time away or the reasons for why he had left. Instead of facing his problems, he had just ran away while his little brother had stayed and had tried to cope with what went wrong in his life. Again Neil had proven to be better than him. But for the first time Mark didn't feel angry or jealous about that. Instead he was proud.

"Did you talk to Dad?" Neil interrupted his thoughts.

"I even slept in my old room. Nice to know it's still mine actually. I thought you would have claimed it for you right after I left." Mark replied jokingly. Then he became more serious again. "Dad and I talked mostly about you though ... And Charlie came by the house yesterday."

Mark noticed how Neil tensed immediately and he quickly added. "He beat him up."

"What?" Both Neil and Kelly exclaimed surprised.

"Yes, he started yelling at him and suddenly he lunged at him. Took me quite some effort to pull Dad off him."

"You shouldn't have stopped him." Kelly snorted.

Neil said nothing, he just stared down at his hands.

"He believes you." Mark said. He had put his hand on Neil's arm to get his full attention. "Turns out his son is more worth to him than his guy after all."

Neil didn't say anything, he only nodded slowly. He had never thought his father would ever believe him. But he had ... He wondered what his father was thinking about him now.

Mark watched his brother for a while before he decided to change the subject. He didn't want Neil to think about this more than he had to. "That's one hell of a girlfriend you have." Mark said, pointing at Kelly. "She wouldn't leave your side, not once. She didn't even let go of your hand."

"I know." Neil smiled at Kelly, squeezing her hand. Neither of them had been willing to let go of each other since he woke up.

"I can't stay much longer though." Kelly said ruefully. "My parents only allowed me to stay that long because it looked like you would die any minute. I guess they wanted to give me the chance to say goodbye in case ..." She cleared her throat, unable to finish her sentence. "But now that you're better ..."

"... they're back to hating me." Neil finished for her with a grin. Kelly only shrugged apologetically as a reply. Her parents hadn't liked him the first time, why would it be any different now?

They talked a bit more for a few minutes until Neil was starting to get tired. He fought to keep his eyes open, but eventually he had to give in and fell asleep. Mark and Kelly both sat silent next to him, watching him in his sleep, knowing that he was finally out of danger.

Tbc

**A.N.: Thanks for reading. I hope you like this chapter. :)**


	14. Chapter 14

„How about a coffee?" Mark asked. They had sat silently next to Neil's bed for some hours. He hadn't woken up again once and it didn't look like that would change anytime soon. Mark felt like he would go crazy if he spend another second just sitting around. A cup of coffee in the cafeteria sounded like heaven right now. And it would give him the chance to talk to Kelly a bit. He just needed to convince her to leave Neil's side for a while.

"Not for me, thanks."

"Come on, we both could need some change of scenery. You haven't left his side for days. A few minutes alone won't harm him."

"It's bad enough that I have to go home tonight. I'd really rather stay with him until then."

"You think that's what he wants you to do?" Mark wasn't ready to give up so fast.

"What do you mean?"

"I think he would want you to go to the cafeteria and he'd want you to get some good night sleep in your own bed tonight."

"Really? And what gives you so much insight in your brother's mind?" Kelly asked with a raised eyebrow.

"If it were me, that's what I would want for the woman I love."

Kelly just stared at him for a second. Then she slowly shook her head and let out a small laugh. "All right, but only for half an hour."

"Great." Mark smiled.

XXXXXXX

Chuck was surprised to find Neil's room empty. He didn't think he would ever get a chance to spend some time alone with his son. Neil was still asleep, so Chuck quietly sat down next to him. He looked at his son for a while. Then he grasped his hand and gave it a light squeeze.

"I'm sorry, son." He whispered with closed eyes.

A twitch in his hand made him open his eyes quickly and he found Neil looking at him surprised.

"Dad?" he croaked. His voice sounded hoarse from being on the respirator so long.

Chuck reached for a glass of water on the night stand. "Here, drink some."

He lifted Neil's head and held the glass to his lips.

"Thanks." Neil said quietly when he had finished. The water felt good in his dry throat.

Chuck noticed how Neil searched the room for Kelly with his eyes. The sad look when he couldn't find her didn't go unnoticed by Chuck. He remembered that he used to look for Paige too every morning right after he woke up. He still did that some times.

"Mark probably convinced Kelly to get something to eat. She hasn't left your room since you got here. I'm sure she'll be back soon." He assured his son.

"Yeah … I was surprised to see Mark this morning." Neil said hesitantly after a moment.

"So was I when he showed up." Chuck smiled. "It's good to have him back."

When Neil looked down at his hands, Chuck knew he had said something wrong again. "It's good to have both of you back." He added quickly. "Neil, I know I always preferred Mark in everything. I'm sorry for this. I guess I didn't even notice what I was doing there. But whatever I did, that doesn't mean that I … that he means more to me than you." Chuck paused for a second. Damn it, why couldn't he just say that he loved his son? That he loved both of them. "I want you to know that."

Neil swallowed. "I do know that, Dad."

"I want you to really believe it too. I really screwed up my relationship to both of you long before this planet exploded. I don't want that to happen again. I told Mark that I want him to stay. Maybe I can somehow explain this whole mess to him."

"You think he's going to believe you?" Neil chuckled.

"I hope. Maybe not the first time. Your mom needed some time too before she stopped thinking I was nuts."

"I think Mark might be even more skeptic."

"Maybe we can convince him together." Chuck looked earnestly at his son. He might not be able to say the words, but he wanted to show Neil that he loved him in every possible way.

"We can try." Neil replied doubtfully.

"It has to work. It's the only way for us to be a family again."

Neil didn't reply anything to that. He was too stunned at the change in his father's demeanor.

XXXXXXX

"How long do you know Neil?" Mark asked after taking a sip of his coffee.

"We're on the same school, so I've known him for a couple of years. But …" She chuckled. " I always thought he was a complete idiot. The way he was acting in school, his looks … and I know he smoked pot and drank a lot of alcohol. He really wasn't someone I'd have liked to hang out with."

"What changed?"

"He did." Kelly laughed. "From one day to the next he seemed like a whole different person. And I don't just mean the new haircut. Everything about him. He suddenly became a top student, he didn't hang around with his friends anymore, at least not as often. He seemed … It was like he grew up over night. Then he broke up with Holly and … He always looked at me in this strange way … as if he could see to the bottom of my soul." She laughed again. "I had no other choice but to say yes when he asked me for a date."

"He really did change, didn't he." Mark said thoughtfully. "I was shocked when he suddenly started running in the morning. And all the things he suddenly knew about NASA … He knew more than I did and he's in High school." He let out a small laugh. At the time it had annoyed him that Neil was suddenly starting to give him tips about NASA, but now … He didn't care about being an astronaut anymore. He was just glad to have his brother back.

"We're engaged." Kelly had no idea why she had just said that. There was not a chance that they could get married any time soon. They were both still minors and even if Neil's Dad would agree to the marriage, her parents never would.

"He didn't … You're not pregnant, are you?" Mark asked worried. He couldn't think of any other reason why his 17 year old brother would propose to his girlfriend.

"No, I'm not. We're just very much in love with each other. And I know for a fact that that isn't going to change the next few years, so why wait?"

"How can you be so sure? You're seventeen …" Mark's voice trailed off. As an older brother he felt compelled to talk them out of getting married so young. But he had seen them together. Kelly had been there for Neil the whole time and the way Neil had looked at her when he woke up the first time … then there was no doubt that those two were meant for each other.

"I feel a lot older than seventeen right now." Kelly laughed. "Don't worry, we're not planning to get married right away. Not that we don't want to." She laughed again. "But we have to wait until we're both eighteen. My parents would never agree to it."

"So they don't like him?"

"No, they don't. Uh, I mean, they haven't met him yet, but I know he's just not the kind of man they want for me. I'm supposed to marry some rich guy and become his devoted wife."

"Somehow I can't picture you like this." Mark smiled.

"Neither can I. My parents are just going to have to live with my decision. They won't like it, but … well, that's their problem."

Mark admired her for that attitude. His whole life he had tried to get his parents approval. He would have never thought of doing anything that went against their wishes. Neil had always been the total opposite of him when it came to that. Considering what he went through, that probably wasn't even surprising.

"We should get back. I don't want Neil to wake up to an empty room." Kelly said after checking her watch.

"Yeah, okay."

They both got up and walked back to Neil's room. Before Kelly had a chance to open the door, Mark held her back. "Kelly, I .. I just wanted to say … I look forward to have you as my sister-in-law."

Surprised Kelly looked at him. "Thanks, uhm …" She was at a loss of words for the moment. Then a smile appeared on her face. "I look forward to have you as my brother-in-law too."

Tbc


	15. Chapter 15

"So, I hear you're finally getting released today." Kurt said smiling when he stepped into Neil's hospital room.

"Yeah, finally." Neil replied with a small smile. It didn't reach his eyes.

"Don't look too happy about it. You're gonna miss the nurses?" Kurt joked.

"Yep, that's it. And the good food. There's nothing better than hospital food."

"Yes, their really is something about the food they're serving here. I bet you already miss the Chili from the Diner." Kurt said smiling. Then he got more serious. Something about Neil's behavior worried him. "So, what's wrong?" He asked directly.

"What do you mean?"

"Neil, come on. You have been in this hospital for over two weeks. You should be relieved to get out of here. But you look as if we're sending you to boot camp."

"It's nothing, really. I just … " Neil paused and looked down at his hands. "Dad has been wanting to talk to me about … you know, what happened and I … talking to him about it, it's … It was easier when he didn't know."

"I'm sure it would help both of you to talk about it." Kurt said quietly.

"That's just it. Dad and I, we … we don't talk. We yell or we say nothing. But we don't talk. And now all of the sudden he wants to have all kinds of conversations with me. And that's nice, but … there are just some things I'd rather not talk to him about."

Kurt let out a long sigh. He really didn't know how to respond to that. He knew the kind of relationship Neil had with his father. It had never been a good one. He had to give Chuck credit though for trying to reach out to both of his sons now. He only hoped Neil – and Mark too – would take that chance and reconcile with their father. Chuck had never been a very patient man and Kurt was afraid that he would stop trying when he didn't see any progress. But he also knew that forcing Neil to talk about what happened wouldn't do any good either. "I have an idea. It would only postpone your return home and the inevitable talk with your father, but you could stay in my apartment for a few days. I'm sure Kelly would be delighted to take care of you there. And this way you two can spend some time alone."

"And what about you?" Surprised Neil looked at Kurt.

"Uhm, you know, now that Angela is back, I thought … well, we haven't seen each other in a while and .. ahem, you know, I wasn't planning on leaving her apartment much anyway the next few days, so …." His voice trailed off. He didn't think he needed to finish his sentence for Neil to understand what he was trying to say.

"Okay, uhm, thanks. That would be great." Neil said relieved. He wasn't exactly sure if Angela would like this idea as much as Kurt, but spending some time alone with Kelly was exactly what he wanted to do now.

"Great, than that's settled. I just get some things out of my apartment and then I bring you the key." Kurt said as he got up to leave.

XXXXXXX

"Hi." Kurt said with a wide smile.

Surprised Angela stared at him. When her eyes fell on a bag in his hand, she cocked an eyebrow. "Kurt. Is there a reason you're standing with a bag in front of my apartment?"

"Actually, yes, there is. You see, I let Neil stay in my apartment for a few days. He didn't really feel very comfortable going home already. And since Kelly is staying with him … Well, as much as I like both of them, I don't like to be the third party there, so I told him I'd stay with you."

"With me?"

"Yes. I'm sure you don't mind. Right, sweetheart?" Kurt grinned.

"Sweetheart?" Again Angela raised an eyebrow. Then she let out a sigh. She had to admit that Kurt was trying to do something good by letting Neil stay in his apartment. She could hardly throw him out for that. "Okay, but you know you'll be sleeping on the couch, right?"

"I was more hoping for the bed, but I can live with the couch." Kurt said grinning. "So, what's smelling so good?"

"I'm cooking, for me. The phone's over there. In case you're hungry, feel free to order a pizza." Angela replied as she went into the kitchen.

After throwing his bag on the couch, Kurt followed her. When he saw her standing in front of the oven, he walked towards her and wrapped his arms around her waist. Smiling he pulled her close to him. "How about you cook today and I cook for the rest of the week. You always seemed to like my cooking."

Angela closed her eyes for a moment and let out a small sigh. She had missed being so close with Kurt and she really did like his cooking. But she wasn't ready to admit that to him. "Okay, deal." She said and moved his arms off her waist.

XXXXXXX

When Kelly came back to the hospital to pick Neil up for his release, he told her the news about staying in Kurt's apartment for a few days. She was more than excited.

"Oh my god, that's so great. This could be like ... like our honeymoon for being engaged." She called out with a big smile.

"Honeymoon for being engaged?" Neil laughed.

"Yeah, well ... you know. Anyway, whatever we call it, it will be great."

"And what are you going to tell your parents? After all the time you spend here, I don't think they're going to be too thrilled with you staying away again. Especially if you're staying with me."

"Don't worry about that. I'll just tell them I'll spend some time with Sarah. I already covered for her a few times and her parents are on vacation, so it won't be a problem." Smiling she put her arms around his neck. "It will be just you and me for the next few days."

"Yeah ... I wish it could be like this forever." Neil said quietly, laying his forehead on her shoulder.

"What is your Dad gonna say?" Kelly asked after a moment of silence between them.

Neil shrugged. "I don't think he'll mind. This way he's got the house to himself for a bit longer."

"Neil, I don't think that ..."

In that moment the door opened and Chuck entered the room. Kelly let out a small sigh. She really wasn't convinced that Chuck Taggert would take this news very good.

XXXXXX

"What do you mean, you're staying in Kurt's apartment?" Chuck asked stunned. Neil had just told him about Kurt's offer and he wasn't very happy about it. He had looked forward to having Neil back home with him, so that they could finally talk without the nurses and lots of visitors disturbing every attempt of a serious conversation with his son.

"Look, Dad … Kelly and I want to spend some time alone and Kurt offered us this chance. We're not gonna turn that down. I mean, we're practically married anyway, so what's the big deal?" Neil forced himself to look into his father's eyes. He didn't want him to caught on the fact that this wasn't the true reason for his not coming home yet.

Chuck only stared at his son. There wasn't really anything to say against that. But after all that happened, Chuck simply wanted his son home. He just couldn't find the right words to say it. "Well, if that's what you want, then … " He cleared his throat. "Call me if you need anything."

"I will. Thanks, Dad." Neil smiled at him gratefully. The relief was clearly visible in his eyes.

Defeated Chuck watched how Neil grabbed his bag and took Kelly's hand. Both had a big smile plastered on their faces.

"We'll see us in the Diner tonight, right?" Chuck asked hopefully before they left the room.

"Um, yeah, sure. We'll be there." Neil replied hesitantly. Kelly quickly nodded in confirmation.

"Good." Chuck didn't really know why this was so important to him, but it just felt good to know that he would see Neil again tonight. At least this way he could make sure that his son was all right.

XXXXXXX

Relieved Neil let himself fall on Kurt's couch. "Finally. I thought he'd never leave." He called out. His father had offered them to drive them to the apartment and neither of them had been able to come up with an excuse to turn that offer down. And once Chuck had been in the apartment, he had stayed for over an hour, unwilling to leave his son alone already.

"He's just worried about you. After all that happened, it's only understandable." Kelly tried to defend his father.

"I don't need him to hover over me. I'm old enough to take care of myself."

"Yeah, and we all saw how good that was working. You didn't eat properly and ended up in hospital. Twice. It's just good that I'm here now to look after you or god knows what might happen next." Kelly grinned.

"First, the one time, I was in hospital because of this sentient virus. And second …" He gave her a big smile. "I think I'm gonna like you taking care of me." He said as he took her arm and pulled her down on the couch next to him. Then he cupped her face with his hands and gave her a long kiss.

After a moment, Kelly pulled away and looked at him smiling. "I think the Doctor told you not to exert yourself."

"This isn't exerting. This is exactly what I need to get better."

"Says who?"

"Hm, the doctor of course." Neil grinned.

"The doctor told you that kissing me will make you get better again?"

"Yep."

"Well, in that case … " Smiling Kelly put her arms around his neck and began kissing him. When he started to move his hand under her shirt, she stopped him. "Neil, as much as I love this, but we have to be in the diner in less than in hour. Uhm, maybe we should wait with this until after … " She stopped and let out a small moan. Neil had started kissing her neck and his hand moved again under her shirt. This time she didn't stop him.

XXXXXXX

They arrived at the diner about half an hour too late. Chuck looked at them impatiently when they sat down.

"You're late." He grumbled.

"Yeah, sorry, we, uhm … got hold up." Neil said, trying to look earnest.

"Yes, we're really sorry. Did we miss anything?" Kelly asked in an attempt to shift the attention away from them.

"Actually we were just discussing this sentient virus." Kurt replied. He could imagine why Neil and Kelly had been late and he understood that they didn't want to get into that right now, especially with Chuck present. He gave Neil a small smile, who looked at him gratefully.

"What about it?" Kelly asked.

"Well, we send the list to a few detectives and one of them actually believed us. All people on that list got arrested a few days ago and they were all tested positive on the virus. They didn't get sick from it, but they could infect other people. So that's one threat less."

Relieved Kelly grabbed Neil's hand. "So there is no way he can get this virus again in the future?" She asked hopefully.

"We don't know what the Sentients have in store, but … I think for now it's safe to say the virus isn't a danger anymore. Also we have the antidote now." Kurt had tried to put this in as good a light as possible. The truth was he wasn't certain the Sentients wouldn't come up with a mutated form of the virus within the next few years, but he didn't want them to worry about this possibility now.

"So they just got arrested and that's it?" Neil asked quietly. After all the problems that had evolved from their little trip to Wellington because of that list, this seemed all too easy.

"Yes, that's it. There is nothing else for us to do here. Except saving the earth, of course. That problem hasn't been solved yet." Kurt replied smugly.

"Well, it's a small victory at least." Kelly said happily. "We should celebrate this."

"Celebrate?" Everyone looked at her surprised.

"Yes. Come on, you never celebrated your victories against the Sentients? This is good. They could have killed lots of people with this virus, but you stopped them. That's great."

"I agree." Sarah said. She had stayed silent most of the time. The worry about her son didn't leave much room for anything else. But thanks to Kelly she knew that Corey would beat the cancer. He would live. And she hadn't even thought about celebrating that until now.

"Okay, I'll buy a round. Stacy …" Kurt called for their waitress. "Give us the best champagne you have."

Stacy blinked a few times and just stared at him for a moment. "We don't have champagne."

Kurt's shoulder's sagged down. He really hated this Diner. "Okay, how about wine? You have wine?"

"Yes."

"Okay, then we'll have the best wine you have."

A few minutes later Stacy returned with a bottle of wine. Kurt recognized the label – for about 5 $ he could buy this wine in every supermarket. "Well, this is not exactly what I had in mind, but what the hack …" He took the bottle from Stacy, ignored the grins on everyone's faces and filled their glasses. "To victory."

TBC


	16. Chapter 16

Yawning Kelly stretched her hands in the air.

"I can't believe we have to get back already. Don't you think we could convince Kurt to stay with Angela a bit longer?" She said as she crawled out of bed. She had enjoyed those last few days with Neil. It had felt like they were back in their old lives, happily engaged, with their own apartment and no one telling them how to live their life. And she had enjoyed seeing the old spark return to Neil's eyes. He didn't have any nightmares the last few nights and for the first time since she came back here he didn't look haunted.

"I think we'd have to convince Angela, not Kurt." Neil laughed. "And even if that would work, your parents wouldn't allow you to stay away much longer. They'll never let you leave the house again, if you keep staying away like this."

"I'll never get used to this." Kelly groaned. "Why couldn't the seeker have sent me back only three years. Then highschool would be over already."

"We survived it once, we'll get through it again. Plus, this time I got you by my side." Neil grinned as he pulled her into an embrace.

"That's definitely an advantage." Kelly smiled, giving him a long kiss.

XXXXXX

Slowly Neil walked up the driveway to his parent's house. He still didn't feel comfortable staying with his father again. Fortunately Mark was still there, so maybe his father would be too busy noticing him at all.

Quietly he stepped into the house. If he was lucky, he could sneak into his room without anyone noticing him.

"Hey little brother, it's about time you come home." Mark called from down the stairs.

So much for luck, Neil thought sighing. He forced himself to smile as he turned around to his brother. "Hey … if you ask me, I could have stayed in that apartment for the next couple of years."

"I bet. But it's really good you're back. Dad is driving me crazy. He's taking this whole reconciliation thing pretty serious."

"Must be working … You're still here." Neil stated.

"Yeah, I am." Mark looked at his brother thoughtfully. "So, what's the plan for today?"

"Not sure. If it's okay with her parents, Kelly is going to come over later. But I'm not counting on it. Sunday is their holy family day and she'd been gone for quiet some time now."

"Man, am I glad I'm not a minor anymore." Mark laughed.

"Yeah …"

"I made something to eat. You're hungry?"

"Not really. I'll just get my things up and …"

"Okay, stop right there." Mark interrupted him. "That wasn't really a question. I know about the whole not eating and ending up in hospital story. Dad's at work right now, so I'll make sure you get something proper to eat."

Sighing Neil looked at his brother. "You know, it's not that I don't want to eat. But … you said you made something … as in you cooked. And I remember your cooking, so …"

"Shut up and come down here." Mark laughed.

Chuckling Neil came down the stairs and put his bag down on the floor, then he followed his brother in the kitchen. Two plates were already placed on the table. "How'd you know I'd be back by now?"

"Kelly called me as soon as you left." Mark explained grinning.

"Figures." Neil sighed. "With all of you ganging up on me, I'm lucky if I still fit in my clothes anymore once you're done."

"Don't worry. This is all healthy stuff." Mark assured him as he put some food on the plates.

They ate quietly for a while before the silence got too much for Neil. He was shoving the food around his plate more than he was eating it, and he figured he needed to get his mind into other directions if he ever wanted to eat something today.

"So, are you back for good or is this just a polite family visit?"

"I don't know. Really." Mark shrugged. "Things are better with Dad now. Maybe I overreacted. I don't know … I'd still like to know what you two were doing all this time. Before Mom … you know."

Neil swallowed and looked uncomfortably on his plate. "Did Dad tell you anything?" He asked after a moment.

"No, he said we should wait with this until you're back here. Well, you are back." Mark pressed.

"Yeah, but Dad isn't here right now, so …"

"Damn it, Neil, I want to know what's going on here. What did you and Dad have been up to? And who were all those people who visited you in hospital? What happened to your loser friends, I didn't see any of them coming to visit you. Except the twins, but they're the only almost normal people you're friends with."

Sighing Neil looked at his brother. "Mark, I could tell you the whole story now and you wouldn't believe me. Dad told Mom and she thought he was crazy. It took her weeks to accept that he was telling the truth."

"Mom knew?"

"Yeah … in the end she did." Again Neil looked down. His mother knew the truth and that was what got her killed in the end.

"So what did he tell her?" Mark asked again. "If it takes weeks to believe it, then you might as well tell me now. The sooner I know, the sooner I'll believe it, right?"

Before Neil could reply anything, his father's voice cut in. "I think it's time to tell him."

Surprised both Neil and Mark turned around to Chuck. Neither of them had heard him coming in.

"You're the Commander, so you tell him." Neil stated dryly.

Chuck let out an amused chuckle. "Somehow I knew you'd say something like this."

Neil's only answer was a small smile on his lips.

"Okay, I'm waiting. What's going on?" Mark inquired.

Taking a seat between his sons, Chuck began to tell the whole story. How he had been in the space shuttle, watching the destruction of earth. That Neil had been with him as the youngest astronaut in the history of NASA. He told him of the seeker, how he send them all back to safe earth. He explained everything he knew about the Sentients. And he told him how relieved he was to wake up to find his family was still alive, to find his oldest son still living in his house. He told him that he was determined to take this second chance, not only to safe the earth, but also to repair his relationship with Mark, to show him that him becoming an astronaut wasn't that important to him, that he would always love him no matter what. He looked at Mark the whole time as he spoke, hoping to see that his oldest son was believing him.

Mark just sat frozen on his chair. Whatever he had expected his father to say, this wasn't it. An exploding earth? His young, 17 year old brother an astronaut? Time travel? His father must have lost his mind. When he turned to Neil, he expected to find the same confusion in his eyes as he felt right now. But instead Neil looked at him expectantly, as if he was waiting for him to respond to this in any way.

"You believe all this?" Mark called out, looking at Neil stunned.

"I don't just believe it, Mark. I was there. I was on that shuttle too. I saw what happened." Neil said quietly.

Mark shook his head. This couldn't be true. It all sounded like it came straight from some bad science-fiction movie. But it would explain so many things … Neil's knowledge about NASA, his sudden change in behavior, the fact that he was working so close with their father all of the sudden. Frustrated he put his head in his hands. He couldn't believe he was considering this to be the truth.

"We don't expect you to believe it all right away, Mark." Chuck said quietly after a moment. "Take your time and think about it."

Slowly nodding, Mark looked at his father. "Yeah, I'll … I'll think about it. Uhm … I'll be in my room." Without looking at them anymore, Mark rushed out of the kitchen.

Neil let out the breath he hadn't even realized he was holding. "That went better than expected."

"Yes." Thoughtfully Chuck looked at his son. "We need to talk Neil."

**A.N.: I'm so sorry for the long delay. I was plagued with writer's block regarding this story. This chapter was supposed to be longer, but I thought I just split it in two parts and post right now. If I have the time, I should be able to finish the second part today and will post it right away. Thank you for still reading this story. **


	17. Chapter 17

_As promised, here's the second part of the chapter._

"We need to talk Neil."

Sighing Neil looked down. He should have known his father wouldn't let go of this.

"Look Dad, I really don't think that …"

"No Neil, we postponed this long enough. I know what … I know this will be hard, for both of us. But we need to talk about it. And the longer we wait, the harder this will be."

"_This_ is none of your business anymore, Dad. I'm old enough to …"

"You're still my son. That makes it my business." Chuck interrupted him again.

"It's a bit too late for that, don't you think?" Neil said coldly.

Sighing Chuck looked at this son. For a second he considered to just give up. He had tried to reach Neil several times during the past few days and it had all been for nothing. Neil still refused to talk to him. But then he saw something in his son's eyes that he had never seen before - for the first time he could see through the hard shell that Neil had build around him. Behind his son's anger he could see his despair, his fear … He saw a small boy who wanted nothing more than to hide from the monsters in the dark.

"You can try to push me away as often as you want, but I won't let go." Chuck said determinedly. He wanted Neil to understand that this time things would be different. He would be there for his sons, he would be the father he should have been a long time ago. By now he had realized that he had become exactly like his own father. Everything he had always despised about him, he had done to his own children. But this was about to change now.

"Okay, fine. Then talk." Neil crossed his arm before his chest and leaned back in his chair, waiting for his father to start.

Chuck was taken aback for a second at this sudden change, but he regained his composure quickly. "I was hoping more for you to do the talking. Why don't you tell me what really happened?"

Neil wanted to reply with a smug remark, but instead he found himself yearning to tell his father the truth. If he just let it all out, then it might be over. He wouldn't have nightmares any longer, he wouldn't have flashbacks of HIM every time he was intimate with Kelly. He could just leave it all behind him. But the words wouldn't leave his mouth. As much as he wanted to, he couldn't talk about it. It had been hard enough to tell Kelly and Kurt. He didn't think he could do it all over again even though he knew that talking about it with his father would probably be the most important conversation.

With despair in his eyes he looked at his father. "I … I can't. Dad … Can we just leave it? You know what happened, why do you need me to tell you? I …" He swallowed. "Maybe I'll tell you one day, maybe I never will. But if I do … it needs to be on my terms." Hesitatingly he looked at his father. "Okay?"

Letting out a deep breath, Chuck watched his son for a long moment. What was he supposed to do now? Just let it go? His son had been abused for seven years, right under the eyes of his parents. And now that he could finally do something to help him, Neil turned him away. He probably deserved nothing better. But this wasn't about him, it was about Neil. If he kept it all to himself, what would it do to him? Even if he thought he was fine now, what would be in five years? Or ten? What if this was coming back to haunt him someday like it had now? And then he realized what he had to do. He simply needed to show Neil that he was there for him … always. And that whenever he was ready to talk about it, his father would be there to listen to him.

"Okay." He gave his son a warm smile. "But whenever you're ready …"

"I'll come to you." Neil finished for him with a grateful smile. "Thanks, Dad."

XXXXXXX

When Neil was back in his room, he felt like a huge weight had been lifted from his shoulders. There were no secrets anymore. His father knew about what happened in the cottage and he didn't judge him for it. He hadn't spoken any accusations, he hadn't called him a liar. He had simply accepted the truth.

And Mark knew about the time travel and everything connected to it. He would still need some time to accept it all, but Neil was sure he would come around eventually. His mother had and she had always been a bigger skeptic than Mark ever would be.

He didn't need to lie to Holly anymore about having a relationship with her. He was with Kelly now and everyone knew it. After seeing Kelly in the hospital at his side, the twins had probably told the whole school by now that he had a new girlfriend. So there was no need to keep it hidden anymore. They still needed to tell her parents, but as they had never really liked him in the future, it didn't matter how they would react.

With a relieved sigh Neil let himself fall on the bed and for the first time in weeks he wasn't afraid to fall asleep.

XXXXXXX

Two months later everyone met in the diner for their weekly meeting. Kurt, Sarah and Angela were the first ones to arrive. As usually they ordered food and drinks for everyone and talked while they waited for the others.

"He's actually attending a baseball team. I would have never thought I'd see the day for Corey to play baseball. He loves it." Sarah told them with joy. "And I don't need to worry about him exhausting himself too much. It doesn't matter. All traces of the cancer have left his body and he's fully recovered."

"This is so wonderful, Sarah. We're so happy for you." Angela replied with a wide smile. She had always admired Sarah for her strength to fight for her son. Deep inside she had always doubted that her friend would be able to safe her son, but she did it. Corey had beaten his disease and was a normal, healthy young boy now.

"Hey guys." Neil and Kelly approached them, each taking a seat at the table. Their hands were tightly entwined, like most of the times they were together. Each of them had a small ring on their ring fingers. They had both turned 18 this month and had made their engagement official last week. Kelly's parents had nearly suffered a stroke when they had told them, but Kelly had made it clear to them that Neil was the man she loved and they wouldn't be able to change that. Neither of them doubted that her parents wouldn't do anything in their power to bring the two apart before the wedding. But Neil and Kelly didn't worry about that. They knew how much they loved each other and nothing in the world would ever get between them.

A few minutes later Chuck and Mark sat down at the table and they began discussing the latest information they had collected about the Sentients.

Mark had joined their little group when he had finally realized that everything his father had told him was true. It had taken a little while, but eventually he had to admit that this story was so crazy, it simply had to be true. And so, instead of just sitting around and wondering what to do with his life, he had decided to join their fight against the Sentients. He'd get to spend some time with his family and he would do something good … right now he couldn't ask for more.

Like every week Chuck, Neil, Mark, Kelly, Kurt, Angela and Sarah sat in the Diner to safe the world. And no matter what the world would threw at them, they wouldn't stop. As long as they all had each other, they knew that they would win in the end.

The end

**A.N.: Thanks to everyone who stuck with this story, despite the long delays between chapters. I hope you all enjoyed the story. ****IritIlan, thank you for all your reviews. I'm really grateful for them. And thanks to everyone one else who has reviewed this story. I appreciate all the feedback you gave me :-) **

**I'm not 100 percent satisfied with the ending. But writer's block just kicked in again and I figured I better end it this way than never. Maybe I'll rewrite it again some day, I really can't say. For now, that's the end of this story. **


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